20 percent of Russians want to leave their own country (Image: GETTY)
A poll conducted by Gallup showed that 20 percent of Russians said they would leave Russia if they could. The results are a threefold increase from five years ago, surpassing the previous record set in 2007 when 17 percent said they wanted to leave, according to Newsweek. In the latest survey of 2,000 people between June and October 2018, a shocking 44 percent of the respondents were between the ages of 15 and 29 which is likely to concern Moscow’s officials. During the Winter Olympics in Sochi and the illegal annexation of Crimea from Ukraine, only 7 percent of respondents said they wanted to leave.
The American poll suggested President Vladimir Putin “has had a strong effect on Russians’ desire to emigrate”.
Only 12 percent of adults who approved of Putin’s job performance would like to migrate, while 40 percent who did not approve of his job said they wanted to leave Russia.
The analysis said: “If these demographic losses turn Russia into the 'empty
