She explains that, because there is no agreement on voluntary migration between the two countries, people leaving Kazakhstan for Russia usually have to leave their money and property behind. Last year a total of 581,000 people immigrated to Russia including 145,000 from Kazakhstan who were citizens of Kazakhstan. Of the 120,000 who applied to the Federal Migration Service in 1997, 45.5 percent came from Kazakhstan. However, the influx is slo wing. The reasons for moving are mostly economic but the gradual closure of Russian- language schools is also a factor,'' says Regent.
Civil conflict is another major factor behind migration.
About 380,000 people have moved to Russia from Tajikistan since the civil war began there in 1992, including 10,000 who arrived last year. The rest have gone back, but she estimates that there are still about 45-50,000 Russians in Chechnya. According to the last Soviet census in 1989, there was a Russian- speaking population of 30 million outside Russia itself, Regent explains. A similar number of Ukrainians were living in Russia. In addition, some 280,000-300,000 people in Belarus regard themselves as Russian, while Kazakhstan had a Russian population of six million.