Abstract
The article shows how high unemployment, low wages, political instability and corruption in the public administration system of Kyrgyzstan affected the external labor migration of citizens. Migration processes from sovereign Kyrgyzstan to Russia are divided into several periods and directions due to political and economic transformations in the post-Soviet period. In recent years, Siberia and the Far East have become important migration destinations for Kyrgyz citizens, which is connected with the policy of the Federal Migration Service of the Russian Federation. Attention is drawn to the fact that Russia, providing Kyrgyz migrants with jobs and reducing the number of unemployed, is a kind of “social shock absorber” for the republic. Labor migration for Kyrgyzstan, in addition to positive opportunities, also has risks, both economic (dependence on migrant remittances) and social (family, pension, etc.).