Determinants of Labor Migration Flows to Russia: Evidence from Tajikistan

Tajikistan is an active participant in international migratory flows since the breakup of the Soviet Union. Initially, a civil war was the primary push factor for geographic mobility of people. Currently, economic deprivation, limited land area and demographic pressures largely determine the dynamics and flows of the Tajiks' migratory processes, in particular labor mobility from this post-Soviet republic. The primary goal of this paper is to identify factors affecting labor migration to Russia as an important place of destination for Tajik migrants. We look at the role of socio-demographic factors as well as migration-related social capital in population movements. Findings indicate that demographic profile of migrants seems to be a more significant factor toward migration as it reflects a relatively higher share of younger people in country's total population. Results also indicate that knowledge of Russian as a second spoken language is influential.