Economic and Lifestyle Contrasts of Eastern and Western Russia

Primorye loses about 15,000 people annually, according to the statistical service Primorskstat. Some migrants go west, and their dislike for Moscow affects their routes. Many leaving prefer settling in St Petersburg, a more intellectual destination. Another wave chooses to go east. In the 1990s they chose Japan, and in the early 2000s the flows were redirected to China. Young graduates from Far Eastern Federal University who can speak Chinese can find jobs there relatively easily with salaries ranging from US$3,000 to US$5,000 per month.

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