Recent data indicate a 20 percent drop in reverse immigration to Russia in 2004 compared to 2003

Recent data indicate a 20 percent drop in reverse immigration to Russia in 2004 compared to 2003, according to Mark Toltz, a demographer at the Hebrew University's Institute of Contemporary Jewry. Emigration from Russia also dropped last year, but to a smaller degree - only 15 percent lower than the previous year. The trends can be explained by the early signs of economic recovery and the improvement of the security situation. It is difficult to estimate the exact number of immigrants who have returned to Russia, but according to various Jewish organizations, the number of returnees who live and work in Moscow alone is around 35,000, and this number has been increasing over the last few years. At a Knesset Immigration and Absorption Committee meeting initiated at the end of last year, participants expressed concern over the growing trend. Toltz, relying on data from the statistical bureau of the Russian Federation, said less than 14,000 immigrants have returned to Russia and registered as permanent residents from 1997 until the peak of the trend in 2003. Although the figures do not allow for estimating the real number of returnees, since not all of them register, there have been signs of a downward trend. Currently 243,000 "nuclear" Jews, those who define themselves as Jews and generally have two Jewish parents, live in Russia. The expanded nucleus, which includes the "nuclear" Jews and their expanded families, is twice this number. Meanwhile, the number eligible to immigrate to Israel according to the Law of Return is said to be 800,000, Toltz said.