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The impact of Russia-Ukraine conflict on international migration of Russian‐affiliated researchers

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  • Lovakov, Andrey

    (HSE University)

Abstract

The Russia-Ukraine conflict has had a significant impact on international migration patterns, including a significant exodus of Russian-affiliated researchers. This study examines the scale, disciplinary impact, and geographic shifts of this migration wave by analyzing data from the Scopus database. Using changes in the most frequent country of affiliation as a proxy for migration, the results show a substantial decline in the net migration rate of Russian researchers from 2022 to 2024. Russia has been losing about 0.8% of its active researchers annually over this period. This brain drain wave affects almost all research fields. The most affected disciplines include Physics and Astronomy, Computer Science, and Mathematics, while Dentistry and Health Professions experienced comparatively smaller declines. Geographically, traditional academic destinations such as Germany, the United States, and Switzerland have absorbed the majority of emigrating researchers, while non-traditional destinations, such as Armenia, the United Arab Emirates, and Kazakhstan, are also becoming important. However, large academic systems such as China and India have not seen significant increases. The findings underscore that this unprecedented brain drain will have both short- and long-term consequences for Russian academia and global science.

Suggested Citation

  • Lovakov, Andrey, 2025. "The impact of Russia-Ukraine conflict on international migration of Russian‐affiliated researchers," OSF Preprints k8fbc_v1, Center for Open Science.
    • Handle: RePEc:osf:osfxxx:k8fbc_v1
    DOI: 10.31219/osf.io/k8fbc_v1
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Valeria Aman, 2018. "Does the Scopus author ID suffice to track scientific international mobility? A case study based on Leibniz laureates," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 117(2), pages 705-720, November.
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