This article explores emigration from Russia to Hungary in the 1990s. It seeks to answer the question "What factors have influenced Russian men and women to migrate to Hungary after the breakup of socialism?" Applying a gender-integrative approach, I argue that Russian men and women migrated to Hungary due to a variety of interlinked factors. Migration policies, gender ideology and personal desires, not limited to economic and political factors, were all very important in decision-making. I also state that the Russian women I interviewed were active agents in the migration process, even though in their narratives they presented themselves as passive followers.