School graduates from small towns in Russia: Educational and migration strategies

Resumo

This paper used the results of a research project that was implemented at the Institute for Social Analysis and Forecasting of the Russian Academy of National Economy and State Service under the President of the Russian Federation in 2015. The data of the quantitative survey of school graduates from the 11th grade of secondary schools in small Russian towns, as well as the materials of expert interviews with representatives of the municipal education departments and school management. The main conclusion of the study is that there is a huge migration potential of youth in small towns, which is mainly related to receiving higher education in large cities, unfortunately without the real prospect of returning to the lesser motherland.