Ukrainian Migration and Russia’s Development Priorities

The article studies trends in Ukrainian migration before and after the 2014-2015 armed conflict. Migration links between this country and Russia traditionally remained strong due to the geographic and ethnocultural closeness. The political crisis entailed massive flows of Ukrainian refuges. Ukrainian citizens form a group of desirable migrants – most of them speak Russian fluently, want to live in Russia and are highly qualified. Some of them are even ethnically Russian and many come from mixed Russian-Ukrainian families. The Russian Federation is one of the main directions for the migration of Ukrainians. Meanwhile, there is an ongoing discussion in Russia focused on correcting migration policy in order to employ more diversified approaches. Experts and state officials have identified the need to attract highly qualified specialists and immigrants from similar ethnical backgrounds. Given these priorities, Russian migration policy could be expected to welcome Ukrainian citizens. After the beginning of the military actions in Ukraine some doors were opened for them. However, by the end of 2015 the Russian migration policy started once more toughening the procedures. Ukrainian migrants are facing growing problems to participate in state programs of resettlement in Russia, in receiving temporary or permanent residence permit, and in applying for citizenship. On the strategic level, Russian migration policy is still far away from perception of Ukrainian migrants as an important labor and demographic resource for national development. The state needs to revisit its approach to its neighbor’s citizens and use the current geopolitical context in order to attract them into its regions.

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