Russians eager to move abroad

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MOSCOW, Sept. 21 (UPI) -- Russian urbanites expressed an eagerness to emigrate, if only for a short time, with about one-third saying they would like to live abroad, a survey indicates.

A poll of 1,000 Russian city dwellers, taken in September by the polling service Romir, said 31 percent of respondents said they considered moving to another country, up from 19 percent in a 2005 poll, with 55 percent saying they had no desire to move and 14 percent with no answer.

Young people were more the most likely to want to move, with nearly half indicating an interest in emigrating.

The most popular destinations were countries in the European Union, the United States, Australia and New Zealand, the Russian news agency RIA Novosti reported Friday.

The head of Russia's Audit Chamber, Sergei Stepashin, said about 1.25 million Russians emigrated in the past decade.