Creating social ties around and through children: how parenthood impacts the structuring of the Russian-speaking community in Switzerland

Abstract

ABSTRACT Based on 40 interviews with Russian-speaking migrants living in Switzerland, this study focuses on the sociability of migrant parents. The sociability of individuals evolves according to their feeling of integration and their needs. One element that triggers a change in individuals’ social networks is the transition to parenthood as it induces new needs and an adaptation of the social network. Many participants highlighted a greater interest in developing relationships with other Russian speakers when they became parents. My findings show the role of parenthood in building and maintaining community ties. This article first presents how communities of practice based on the transmission of the Russian language and the exchange of information between Russian-speaking parents are created around children. Parenthood is constitutive of the development of ethnic communities through the setting up of meeting places for children and parents. The analysis then focuses on the ways in which these community links develop. This paper details three strategies of community sociability adopted by parents according to their needs and their objectives for transmitting the Russian language, highlighting the agency of the different actors in these social relations.