Students from the Russian Federation in the West: Prospects of Return to Russia

The paper deals with the professional and migration behaviour of students from the Russian Federation specialising in various fields at universities in the USA and in Europe. The basic method of research involved a sociological survey in the academic year 2000/2001, which included a nontypical questionnaire conducted through the Internet. The sample included 100 respondents. The empirical scientific data obtained revealed a wide spectre of characteristics in the present-day international community of students from the Russian Federation (social and demographic traits, professional aspirations, return-migration orientations), and it also indicated the major factors and stimuli affecting return migration. The paper evaluates the emigration potential and return potential of the respondents, and furthermore gives some recommendations in regard to the development of special programmes aimed at encouraging the return to Russia of young specialists, who have received a Western education