Transformation of International Labor Migration in the Russian Far East in the Post-Soviet Period

• Published in: Geography and natural resources Vol. 44; no. 4; pp. 374 - 382
• Main Author: Mishchuk, S. N.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Moscow Pleiades Publishing 01.12.2023; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Earth and Environmental Science; Economic Geography; Geography; Labor market; Landscape/Regional and Urban Planning; Migrants; Migration; Post-Soviet studies; Socioeconomic Issues of Geography; Russia; labor market; foreign specialist; Central Asian countries; non-CIS countries; territorial structure; sectoral structure
• DOI: 10.1134/S1875372823040091
• ISSN: 1875-3728

The aim of the study is to analyze the transformation of the sectoral and territorial structure of international labor migrants in the Far East in the post-Soviet period. The subject for study is international labor migration in the Far Eastern regions. In contrast to earlier studies on similar topics, this paper analyzes the change in the structure of migration both at the levels of districts and individual regions of the Far East. It is shown that changes in the structure of labor migration in the Russian Far East correspond to all-Russian trends with a time lag of 10 years. While in general throughout Russia a steady excess of labor migrants from neighboring countries with visa-free regimes has been observed since the mid-2000s, overall throughout the Far East, it has been observed since the mid-2010s. It was found that by the beginning of the 2020s, a sectoral specialization of labor migrants from non-CIS and CIS countries had formed in the labor market of Far Eastern regions. It was established that the ratio of migrants’ categories differs in individual regions. It was determined that a list of source countries and the sectoral structure of foreign workers’ employment for countries with visa regimes formed from countries with visa regimes in the structure of labor migration of the Far East; however, the ratio of the countries has changed. China remains the leader, and citizens of Turkey, Vietnam, and Serbia also occupy a stable position in the Far Eastern labor market. In the Far Eastern labor market, among citizens of CIS countries, citizens of Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan are in the lead. It is shown that the Far Eastern regions are characterized by deconcentration of skilled and highly skilled labor migrants and by their distribution in a larger number of regions than before.