The introduction of a system of licenses and new rules which make it easier for highly qualified foreign specialists to find a job are undoubtedly positive developments for Russian immigration policy. Nevertheless, Russia remains unattractive to skilled workers and students.

The current state of the Russian economy calls for temporary migration of labour into advanced innovative fields as well as into such areas as construction, services and manufacturing industry. The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) serves as the main source of foreign manpower and a visa-free regime exists between CIS countries and Russia. Inevitably, the progress of Eurasian integration and the expansion of the Eurasian Economic Union will impact upon Russia’s migration system significantly. Eventually, Russia's migration policy will depend on the state of Russian economy in the decade to come.

Lyubov Bisson is a research fellow at the Department of European Integration Studies, Institute of Europe, at the Russian Academy of Sciences (IE RAS) in Moscow. A graduate from the Moscow Institute of International Relations (MGIMO, Russian MFA), she completed her Bachelor’s degree in political science in 2007 and in 2009, she was awarded a Master degree in “European Studies”. In 2015, she defended her PhD thesis. Her research interests include: European integration, the immigration policies of the EU and its member states, Russian immigration policy, the integration of immigrants, and national identity.