With Each Coming Year, Fewer and Fewer People Are Eager to Return to russia, the “motherland”

In 2025, the state program for the voluntary return of foreign compatriots to russia for permanent residence, which was a priority according to russian officials, set another anti-record: only 27,600 people moved back. With the start of russia’s “special military operation”, the number of such “true” russians decreased annually: 64,800 in 2022, 45,100 in 2023, and 31,700 in 2024. It was through this “return” program that russia planned to overcome its demographic crisis.

With the start of the rf’s full-scale aggression against Ukraine, the total number of compatriots who moved to russia from the countries of the former ussr fell sharply: from Tajikistan – 10 times, from Azerbaijan and Moldova – 6 times, from Georgia – 5 times, from Armenia – 4 times, and from Kazakhstan – 3 times.

Despite the fact that repatriation (return) is defined as a priority in the rf’s migration policy concept, on the ground, the bureaucratic and repressive russian apparatus traditionally plays the role of unwelcoming hosts. “Witch hunt” for foreign values that are “non-traditional” for russia, incorrect language tests, and other knowledge tests force “compatriots who have returned to their motherland” to feel the strong embrace of their dear homeland.

The demographic crisis in russia is steadily worsening. According to rosstat, the birth rate in the country is falling rapidly: in 2023, 1.265 million children were born, in 2024 – already 1.222 million, and forecasts for the coming years promise only further decline. At this, mortality consistently exceeds birth rates – every year, approximately 500,000 more people die in russia than are born. This means that even without taking into account war and emigration, the country is naturally “losing” half a million people a year.