The Soviet Union comprehensively governed the mobility of its citizens by barring emigration and strictly regulating internal migration. In the aftermath of the Soviet collapse, the constitution and laws of the new Russian Federation appeared to herald a complete break with the repressiveness of the previous government. Russian law now proclaims the right of Russian citizens and residents to move around their country freely.

This book examines how and why this post-Soviet legal promise of internal freedom of movement has been undermined in practice by both federal and regional policies....