During tough times, Russians are choosing the peace and quiet of the provinces.
According to a poll by VTsOM, the Russian Public Opinion Research Center, the popularity of living in small cities and rural areas is growing. More and more citizens would like their children to stay in their small hometown and, if they move to a large city, would like for it to not be the capital.
The current economic crisis has helped some Russians overcome their aversion to provincial life. People are increasingly expressing a desire for their children to live in small cities (26% compared to 20% in 2006) or even in rural areas (12% versus 6%). It is not only Moscow that is losing popularity, but other large Russian cities – the number of those wishing their children to move there fell from 20% to 17%.
Generally, Russians are advocating for their offspring to stay in their hometowns. A distinct affection for the capital city is still strong, but only among Muscovites (54%) and residents of the country’s central federal district (37%). Overall, living in Moscow is appealing to only about one out of every seven Russians. One out of every ten respondents expressed a preference for living overseas.
Experts point out that a fall in Moscow's population can be evidenced by public transportation statistics. Since the beginning of the economic crisis, the daily passenger load of the subway system decreased by 7%, or between 600,000 and 700,000 people. “Moscow is not just an expensive city – it is an unjustifiably expensive city,” says Stanislav Belkovsky, president of the Institute of National Strategy. “Finding work here is, of course, easier, but the cost of living is immeasurably high. During a crisis, stability and maintaining the status quo in one’s life in rural areas became more important for a lot of Russians, compared to the uncertain prospects to be found in the capital.” Belkovsky believes that the current trend has a predominantly ethical aspect to it – Moscow is traditionally associated with cynicism, greed, and duplicity, and in a period of instability this provokes a great deal of fear.
Native Muscovites, however, can’t help but be glad for this shift of opinion. For them, newcomers are still an irritant on level with traffic jams. One out of four Muscovites is resentful of “migrants” to the capital. “Migrants” are still considered much more of a nuisance than large-scale building developments, the loss of the city’s historical image, and its general hustle and bustle, experts explain. Accordingly, Muscovites only consider those that were born in the capital to be true Muscovites, and even then first-generation Muscovites are occasionally not even acknowledged as such.
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