| Summary: | Whereas Germany and Austria were the main destinations of Russians in the 1990s, recently Italy, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Britain and Ireland became major destinations. Recent East European immigration was mainly directed to the Mediterranean countries to fill gaps in caretaking jobs. South-Eastern Europe and Moldova can be characterized as emigration-remittance-economies with large parts of the active population having migrated to the EU, Russia, Israel, Turkey, and the Gulf states. A distinct Russia-centered immigration system came into being during and after the dissolution of the Soviet empire. Although Russia's population figures remained stable on balance, the country went through a far-reaching exchange of populations. In the future, the demographic downturn and the loss of manpower are the main challenges facing Russia and also neighbouring Ukraine and Belarus. Russia, with its new wealth due to soaring energy prices, will become a competitor for engineers, technicians, researchers, doctors, and also non-qualified workers
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