Ethnic and social determinants of East-West migratory trends in the Baltic Sea Area transition economies

The article concentrates on social and ethnic background factors in the Baltic Sea area transition economies with special reference to Estonian-Russian relations in Estonia. The general framework of the study deals with the transition to a market economy and the effects this transition has on east-west migration. The data for the study was collected in 1996 from four major city regions in four transition countries, this article being based on findings from Tallinn and St. Petersburg. A specific aspect discussed here is the connection between ethnically-based relative deprivation and willingness to emigrate. Indeed, the Tallinn Russians with the most notable tendency towards deprivation do indicate the highest propensity to emigrate. However, as remarked in the final section, the connections between the willingness to emigrate and factors underlying it are far more complex.