Republic of Kalmykia: Educational Migration of Rural Youth

Introduction. The problem of educational migration among Kalmykia’s rural youth is grave enough. The former tends to further evolve into labor one and directly results in rural population decrease. The oppressive outflow of school leavers leads to losses of intellectual and demographic resources within the region. Goals. The study aims at analyzing different aspects of educational migration among rural youth and revealing specific features observed therein. Materials and Methods. The article summarizes indepth interviews with young rural residents to have left for Elista and other federal subjects to get education and skills. It also introduces opinions of experts employed by rural municipal agencies for education and youth. Results. The study confirms the educational migration of rural school leavers is determined by their intention to minimize future life risks and is directly related to the transition to another educational stage. The in-depth interviews and expert polls do show that the youth migration is structured by age clusters tied to certain stages or levels of education proper. One specific feature revealed in the Republic of Kalmykia is that in fact the whole process begins earlier — before they leave school at all. And in most cases the migration is irreversible and later transforms into labor one.