Demography (2/2): Why So Many Russians Are Leaving the Country

Millions of Russians live beyond the country’s borders – estimates range from 20 to 30 million. Meanwhile, among those who remain in Russia, the willingness to leave is growing, especially among younger people. Where part 1 focused on decline driven by low birth rates and high mortality, this second part adds a third factor: emigration. Together, they portray a country that is not only shrinking, but also watching its best people leave.

Why Russians Leave: Economy, Well-Being, and War

To understand why so many Russians leave – or want to – three factors stand out: economic prospects, quality of life, and the impact of the war since 2022.

Russia’s Economy

For many, Russia’s economy offers limited long-term prospects despite the country’s size and natural resources. Growth has been uneven, heavily dependent on energy exports, and constrained by sanctions, war spendings and state dominance in key sectors. For younger and highly educated Russians in particular, opportunities abroad often appear more stable, and more appealing.

Russians and Happiness

Russia ranks 73th in the World Happiness Report (read or download edition 2026 via here), with a barely passing score of 5.5 based on factors like prosperity, social connection, life expectancy, and freedom of choice. Even Pakistan and Tajikistan rank higher. Good news for Russians is that their happiness is practically around the corner: neighboring Finland is number 1.

Exile and Brain Drain since 2022

The full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 accelerated an already existing outflow. Hundreds of thousands of Russians – many of them young, highly educated, and internationally oriented – left the country in successive waves, driven by political pressure, economic uncertainty, and the risk of mobilization. This recent exodus reinforces existing trends, accelerates population decline, and puts further pressure on the country’s future.

Leave Russia Now? Do Russians want to leave Russia?
(Sam’s Russia Adventures, 2023, 12 mins)

Do Russians plan to Leave Russia?
(StreetTalk, 2022, 1 min)

Why Russia’s Young People Want Out
(VOA News, 2019, 2 mins)

Also see Russians Leaving for US Under Tough Political Climate (2019, 2 mins) from the same channel.

Young Russians Eager To Emigrate, But Not Always For Good
(Current Time, 2019, 6 mins)

Podcast: Почему россияне уезжают из России?
(Learn Russian With Dasha/Russian With Max, 2020, 21 mins)

More Russian Emigration

EN

• Russians leave Russia (Russian With Max, 2022, 16 mins)
• Would you like to leave Russia? Rural Russians (1420 by Daniil Orain, 2022, 8 mins)
• Почему люди уезжают из России? Вынужденная эмиграция или синдром неудачника (Игорь Рыбаков, 2020, 15 mins)
• 5 reasons not to live in Russia (Russian Progress, 2020, 11 mins), from the same channel 5 reasons to live in Russia (2020, 15 mins)
• Почему люди уезжают из России (Реальные Будни, 2020, 8 mins)
• Россияне бегут от Путина в эмиграцию (Вот Так, 2019, 3 mins)
• Молодежь уезжает из России (Новости Сверхдержавы, 2018, 10 mins)
• Эмиграция из РФ: валить глупо оставаться (Флесс, 2018, 5 mins)
• Почему русские уезжают из России? (Григорий Явлинский, 2018, 3 mins)
• Волна эмиграции: россияне бегут из России – почему? (Телеканал ICTV, 2017, 10 mins)

Read

EN

• One out of five Russians wants to leave the country. Here’s who they are (The Washington Post, 2019)
• Why Russia’s young are leaving in droves (DW, 2019)
• Record 20% of Russians Say They Would Like to Leave Russia (Gallup, 2019)
• Generation Z Wants to Leave Russia in Record Numbers, Poll Shows (Bloomberg, 2019)
• Official Data Vastly Underestimates Russian Emigration – Report (The Moscow Times, 2019), from the same outlet Young Russians’ Desire to Leave Hits 10-Year High (2019)
• The Putin exodus: The new Russian brain drain (Atlantic Council, 2019), from the same outlet More and more Russians are fleeing oppression in Russia (2019)
• Twelve reasons why Russia sucks (James Sunderland, Medium 2018)
• Russia’s Exceptional Diaspora (Wilson Center, 2017)
• Millions of Educated Russians Flee Putin’s Russia (Newsweek, 2017)
• Russia’s ‘Slow Bleeding’ Brain Drain (US news, 2016)
• Why young Russians are leaving the country (Russia Beyond, 2013), from the same outlet Russia interested in the Russian diaspora living abroad (2012)
• Russian diaspora (Wikipedia)

RU

• Кто уезжает из России. Что статистика знает об эмиграции (Tinkoff.ru, 2019)
• «Это индикатор недовольства»: почему уезжают из России (Gazeta.ru, 2019)
• Время уезжать: почему столько людей хотят покинуть Россию (Forbes.ru, 2019)
• Россия переживает новый всплеск эмиграции (Eurasianet.org, 2019)

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Last updated March 28, 2026