Territorial Differences in the Dynamics of Russians in the Post-Soviet Eastern European and Baltic Countries
https://doi.org/10.31857/S2587556620020090
Abstract
The article presents the analysis results of the Russian and Russian-speaking population dynamics at the state and regional level of the European CIS countries (Belarus, Ukraine and Moldova) and Baltic states (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania) in the post-Soviet period. In accordance with the population censuses in these countries, the study interval is divided into two periods: the last decade of the 20th century and first decade of 21st century. The 1990s were characterized by a significant outflow of the Russian population from the Baltic states and Moldova, and a decrease in the proportion of Russians due to a change of ethnic identity in the Republic of Belarus and Ukraine. In the first decade of the 21st century, the outflow of Russians from the Baltic states continued, it was the most significant in Latvia, the minimal in Estonia. In the Republic of Belarus due to the Russian language adoption as the second state language in 1995 there has been a significant increase in the number and proportion of the population that recognizes Russian as mother tongue. The analysis results of the dynamics of Russians’ proportion are viewed through the prism of the concept of geo-cultural space. According to this concept, the Russian population proportion can be the quantitative criterion for distinguishing the components of the Russian geoethnocultural system territorial structure, which has experienced significant “shrinking” in the post-Soviet period.
Supporting agencies: This research was carried out with the support of the Russian Academic Excellence Project at the Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University
About the Author
A. G. Manakov
Pskov State University; Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Pskov, Kaliningrad
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Graphical Abstract
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1. Доля русскоязычных жителей или населения, признающего русский язык в качестве родного в 1999/2004 гг. | |
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2. Share of population that speaks Russian or defines it as a native language, 1999/2004 | |
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- In the post-Soviet time, the ethnic space of Russians in neighbouring European countries has noticeably ‘shrunk’, especially in Ukraine.
- Until the end of the 20th century, the share of ethnic Russians decreased mainly due to the out-migration from the Baltic countries and Moldova, as well as due to the changes in the ethnic identity of the Russian-speaking population in Belarus and Ukraine.
- In the 2000s, the outflow of ethnic Russians from the Baltic countries continued, being the most significant in Latvia and minimal in Estonia.
- With the approval of Russian as the second state language in Belarus in 1995, the size and proportion of the population recognizing it as a native language increased.
Review
For citations:
Manakov A.G. Territorial Differences in the Dynamics of Russians in the Post-Soviet Eastern European and Baltic Countries. Izvestiya Rossiiskoi Akademii Nauk. Seriya Geograficheskaya. 2020;84(2):179-190. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.31857/S2587556620020090
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