Emigration intentions of Russians and their civic participation

Abstract

This article investigates the impact of civic engagement on Russian citizens’ propensity to emigrate. Although most of the literature on emigration intentions focuses on economic motives and social advancement objectives, there is a gap in empirical research on the relationship between civic engagement and emigration intentions of Russians. The current research draws on the data from the all–Russia population survey carried out within the framework of the civil society monitoring in 2014.The analysis of the binary logit model revealed that younger and better educated Russians are more likely to declare emigration intentions. The likelihood increases if a person feels resentful about the situation in one’s home country, if he/she believes that the prospects for the country and its economy seem increasingly poor, or if being a Russian citizen evokes a feeling of inadequacy and inferiority. The respondents who think that they can make impact through participation in protest movements are much more likely to declare their intention to emigrate. The analysis provides evidence that citizens declaring their intention to emigrate possess fairly strong capacities for civic engagement. The latter can take many forms such as the commitment to collaborate with other people toward public purposes, participation in the work of NPOs, voicing her or his opinion at public hearings, and ranking the right to information as one of the most important civil rights. These citizens can become engaged actors in the country’s social transformations if their civic potential is called upon. Hence, we can make recommendations to advance institutional channels for civic engagement, including the developed territorial public self-government widely supported by municipalities, a broad spectrum of NPO activities, efficient mechanisms of public control and independent evaluation of the quality of services provided by federal and municipal agencies.