To the City or to the Suburbs: What Russians Choose at Different Stages of Life Course

Abstract Migration between large cities and their suburbs was considered from the perspective of two conceptual approaches: models of urban development and agglomeration development, and the life course concept. The research objectives were, firstly, to analyze the migration flow of the population between large cities and suburbs, and secondly, to identify its age characteristics and assess the applicability of migration models described using life course concepts to Russian realities. Individual depersonalized data on internal long-term migration of the population in Russia for 2011–2020 were used, allowing us to detail the directions of migration and identify different age groups of migrants. 137 Russian cities with a population of over 100 000 people were considered as large cities; territories formed around cities of this size at a certain distance from them (20–100 km depending on the city’s population) were classified as suburbs. The migration efficiency indicator was analyzed, allowing us to evaluate not only the directions of the flow, but also its effectiveness. The results obtained showed that each year these cities lose population in exchange with the suburbs by an average of about 50 thousand people. Almost all of these losses occur in the near suburbs. The distant suburbs are losing population in migration exchange with the centers. High efficiency of migration is recorded precisely between the centers and their near suburbs. Without distinguishing between individual age groups, out of the 25 (between centers of various size and suburban settlements of various size and distance from the center) migration directions examined, 16 are directed towards the suburbs, and only 9 towards large cities; these flows are also characterized by lower efficiency. The analysis of migration at different stages of the life course in the migration flow between large cities and their suburbs does not have a clear direction. Families with newborns and preschoolers, as well as people of older working and retirement ages, are the most active in moving to the suburbs. In this sense, the Russian case is characterized by the same patterns that are observed in other countries. However, these rules do not work in Moscow and its suburbs, which at this stage raises a number of questions that require further research.