New Data on Population Migration in Russia: a Challenge for Researchers?

Abstract

The development of population migration studies in Russia’s social geography in 2010–2021 is analyzed. Publications on this topic in leading geographical journals are studied. The possibilities of studying Russia’s internal population migration using new data are considered. Dissertations defended in Russia in the specialty “Economic, Social, Political, and Recreational Geography” are summarized. Based on the results of the analysis, it is concluded that the period under review is characterized by an increased number and broadening of population migration research topics. After 2010, Russian geographers have intensified their study of migration in foreign countries. Among the new areas compared to the early 2000s, one can cite analysis of the settlement pattern of migrants at the intracity level based on cases, studies of foreign countries. New directions in the study of Russian migration are related to specification of the migration information base at the municipal level. The appearance of fundamentally new data—mobile network operators—makes it possible to study the time cycles of the population’s spatial mobility. Social network (e.g., VKontakte) data is used to analyze educational migration. The main problems are related to the formulation of research questions, the depth and complexity of study of the migration process, and the low popularity of the methods and approaches of other social sciences among geographers. Analysis of the publication activity of authors showed a rather low level of cooperation between Russian researchers and their foreign colleagues, as well as the virtual absence of scientific cooperation between geographers from different Russian regions in migration stud-ies.