In Search of Home. The Regional Identity of Young Kaliningraders: Life Strategies and Migration Intentions

Abstract

The article deals with the perception of the city by students and graduates of Kaliningrad universities, the place of regional identity in their life strategies and migration plans in the context of discussions around the migration of intellectuals, the significance for young people of belonging to a place, friendly networks of local communities. The chosen theme has taken on particular relevance in the recent period of geopolitical change and turbulence, being at the centre of heated debates in academia and the political arena. The applicability of the theoretical framework of “brain drain” from peripheral or dangerous territories to central regions and other countries to the chosen subject is critically analyzed. We analyze the factors of young Kaliningraders’ decision “to leave or stay” in connection with their interpretations of belonging to the city, patriotic sentiments, and how Kaliningrad’s unique history and territory influence their life plans. The approach allows us to show the connection between migration intentions (or their absence) and young people’s life strategies and plans, emphasizing the contextuality and mobility of decisions.

The article uses the results of the qualitative part of the research conducted in the city of Kaliningrad by the team of the Youth Research Centre of the National Research University Higher School of Economics (St. Petersburg). The empirical basis of the article was in-depth interviews with current and former students of Kaliningrad universities.

Acknowledgements. The Russian Science Foundation financially supported the research within the framework of the project “The choice of life strategies by talented young people and their role in increasing the competitiveness of Russian regions as a response to global challenges of the ‘brain drain’” (grant No. 21-18-00122) of the Youth Research Center of the Higher School of Economics in St. Petersburg.

We want to thank our colleagues who conducted the field phase of the research in Kaliningrad, all project participants for their involvement and support, and, of course, our young informants who took part in the research.