Labor Migrants In Russia Research Articles

Social orphanhood and deprived parenthood in a migrant family as a threat to demographic security: is there light at the end of the tunnel?

The relevance of the research is the spread of the phenomena of social orphanhood and deprived parenthood due to the labor migration of family members.The problem of the research is the expansion of labor migration, the spread of social orphanhood, the development of deprived parenthood, on the one hand, and the lack of conceptual justification for the relationships between these phenomena, on the other.The goal of the research is to consider social orphanhood and deprived parenthood in a migrant family as a threat to demographic security.The research methods. The work used data from: 1) a questionnaire survey of returned Kyrgyz labor migrants who worked in Russia and then returned to Kyrgyzstan; 2) semi-structured interviews of labor migrants in Russia; 3) quantitative and qualitative content analysis of cases presented in the essays of migrant children.The Results. Thus, social orphanhood and deprived parenthood in migrant families, due its large scale, are considered as a threat to demographic security at several levels: a parent or a child, family as a whole, as well as countries of origin and reception. It has been determined that when children of migrants stay with elderly grandparents, a difficult situation arises, since grandparents sometimes have difficulty with self-care, and it is twice as difficult for them to cope with grandchildren. Children begin to miss classes at school, academic performance decreases, a culture of communication is not formed, and problems with the law appear. In cases where children of migrants remain to live with people who are not relatives to them, the level of safety of minors is significantly reduced, accompanied by beatings and murders. An analysis of the opinions of migrants, their children and experts shows that social orphanhood and deprived parenthood are a threat to demographic security.The Key Findings. Social orphanhood is interconnected with the phenomenon of deprived parenthood, since labor migrants feel responsible both for their own sons and daughters and for their elderly parents. The key social negative of the situation is natural and repeated reproduction of social orphanhood and deprived parenthood in migrant families.

Attitudes of Labor Migrants from Central Asia to International Integration Organizations in the Post-Soviet Space

The article presents the results of a sociological empirical study that was conducted from May to August in 2023. Its purpose was to study the attitudes of labor migrants in Russia towards various international integration processes in the post-Soviet space. The objects of the study were workers from Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan, working in Moscow and the Moscow region. The choice of these countries is not accidental, as they are the main migration donors to the Russian Federation in Central Asia. The uniqueness of the research results lies in the fact that despite the certain “popularity” of such an empirical object as “labor migrants.” The analyzed subject has not yet been sufficiently developed theoretically and empirically. Particular attention is paid to the political preferences and migration attitudes of labor migrants. The issue of awareness of foreign workers of the activities of international integration and military-political associations, such as the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), European Union (EU), the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) and also the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is examined. The paper also presents the respondents’ assessment of the role of these associations in the development of international processes. Separately, the article examines the relationship between Russia and migrant-sending countries. Based on the results of the study, the authors conclude that respondents have a positive attitude towards integration associations in which Russia plays a key role. Moreover, the socio-political attitudes of foreign workers are characterized by a high degree of loyalty to the foreign policy of the Russian Federation. Migrants overwhelmingly support international cooperation between their countries and Russia and share the foreign policy position of the Russian Federation. In conclusion, labor migrants from Central Asia can be considered as a resource and capital of the influence of Russian “soft power.”

Development of Migration Processes between the Republic of Uzbekistan and the Russian Federation

The article discusses the emergence and development of migration between the Republic of Uzbekistan and the Russian Federation. The reasons for the increase in migration from Uzbekistan to Russia over the years of independence are analyzed. The main problems faced by Uzbek labor migrants in Russia are identified. The information on the volume of money transfers from Russia to Uzbekistan year by year is presented, the factors influencing its increase or decrease are analyzed.

Capitalising Precarity: Wellbeing of Migrants in Russia

Abstract This paper aims to introduce the concept of capitalising precarity to analyse the situation of precarious migration in migrant unfriendly contexts such as Russia. The material analysed in this paper concerns welfare and health inequalities in Russia. Welfare of labour migrants in Russia (both for internal Russian migrants and for foreign migrants) is de facto non-existent and largely self-organised by migrants themselves. State migration policies of Russia as well as welfare policies in the destination countries (Central Asia) are formulated in papers but in practice do not function to ensure some kind of wellbeing and social protection. Working conditions both at home (in Central Asia) and in destination countries (Russia and Kazakhstan) do not comply with average requirements of wellbeing of workers. I was shocked but not surprised to see Central Asian migrant workers in winter cleaning the roofs of Russian houses without any protection. The paper analyses the situation of intermixing of legal and informal practices which have a direct implication for wellbeing of migrants in Russia. The working conditions in Russia for both migrant and non-migrant labour violate basic principles of human rights. The paper also shows that even citizenship does not automatically provide direct access to social welfare where the latter is bound to the permanent registration (propiska). Continuous precarity is capital for other actors such as those who can profit from it such as police officers or other migrants themselves. The findings of this research contribute to the broader literature of labour and welfare in terms challenging the boundaries between citizenship and mobility.

The Impact of Economic Sanctions (on Russia) on Labor Migrants from Kyrgyzstan and on their Remittances

Three-thirds of labor migrants in Russia are from Central Asia. Russia, in turn, is an indispensable source of earnings for them: every sixth citizen of Kyrgyzstan works in Russia, and 85-95%% of all remittances go from Russia. Within the last decade, Kyrgyzstan has consistently occupied one of the top three places in the world in terms of the share of remittances in GDP: almost one-third of its GDP is remittances which means that Kyrgyzstan is a highly dependent country on them. That is why the Special Military Operation (SMO) of Russia and bunches of heaviest sanctions on Russia caused serious concern about labor migrants and remittances perspectives. Issues relevant for this analysis are: the perspectives of migrant workers in Russia, the foundations of their amazing resilience and why do labor migrants surprise researchers?

Миграция китайцев на Урал: характеристика архивных источников XX-XXI вв.

In the article, the author examines documents from the State Archive of the Russian Federation, United State Archive of the Chelyabinsk Region, State Archive of the Perm Krai, and State Archive of the Sverdlovsk Region concerning migration from China to the Urals in the 20th-21st centuries. This chronological period covers the main milestones of the Chinese stay in Russia, and in the Urals on particular. In order to conduct historical research on the topic of Chinese migration within the territorial framework of the Urals, it is necessary to generalize these sources, to assess their potential and cognitive limitations. The most significant array of archival documents dates back to the early 20th century. It was during the First World War that severe labor shortage forced Russian officials to approve engaging workers from China to fulfill a large-scale defense order. Thus, a rather voluminous layer of documentation for 1915–17 was formed at the local level, characterizing the practice of recruiting the Chinese to the Ural factories, mines, and logging, the features of their life, and specifics of their social organization. Working with these documents allows the researcher to get a full picture of placement and use of the “yellow” labour in the Urals before the revolution. The available archival files indicate that the efficiency of the Chinese often left much to be desired, but their large numbers, low cost of transportation and maintenance were an undoubted advantage. Some archival fonds of the Soviet authorities give an idea of the socio-demographic composition of the Chinese who remained to live in the USSR in the 1920s-1930s. The next voluminous collection of documents on the topic was formed during the years of the Soviet-Chinese friendship in the 1950s. During these years, the Chinese took a significant part in the construction of industrial enterprises and infrastructure facilities. In the Urals, the Chinese concentrated mainly on the construction of the Molotovstroy facilities. The last layer of archival data dates back to the post-Soviet period and does not seem as informative as the fonds deposited in the late imperial and Soviet periods. To date, relatively few sources have been found in the archives to characterize the migration from the PRC to Russia after the collapse of the USSR. The most reliable data from archival documents permit to trace the number of the Chinese labor migrants in Russia in the first two decades of the 21st century and to establish the main areas of their concentration in the Urals and other regions of the country.

Pregnancy, childbirth and health of female labour migrants from Central Asia in Russia

The research note contains an analysis of data on health, pregnancy, and childbirth experience among female labour migrants arriving in Russia from Central Asia. Empirically, the study bases on the data of three surveys conducted in 2015, 2017, and 2020. In total, the surveys contain information on 2,028 migrants from Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan living in Russia. The analysis proves that with gradual feminization of labour migration from Central Asia, pregnancy and childbirth in a significant part of labour migrants take place in risky living conditions; the existing system of maternal health protection for migrants in Russia needs modernization. Compared to earlier studies on this topic, the survey data showed a higher proportion of female migrants who had got pregnant and gave birth in Russia along with a lower proportion of migrants who terminated pregnancy. These differences may indicate a change in the reproductive behaviour of women who come to work in Russia from the countries of Central Asia. The presented note shows the need for in-depth studies of the reproductive behaviour of labour migrants in Russia, as well as the development of national migration statistics, which should become gender sensitive.

Does flexible migration policy spur competitiveness in the labor market? A case of migrants in the Russian Federation

With the influx of labor migrants across the globe and developed countries being on the receiving end, countries like the Russian Federation have implemented strict migration policies to check the inflow of these migrants, mainly from low-income countries. However, with theoretical underpin the increase in labor migrants brings about competitiveness in the receiving countries labor market. The current study evaluates whether the Russian labor migration policy promotes competitiveness given the characteristics of labor migrants in Russia. The study carried out panel data analysis for 14 countries within Russian region and an aggregated data from the rest of the world using the non-stationary heterogeneous panel model and estimators of mean group and pooled mean group. The result first presents strong cointegration between wage levels and labor supply (immigrant, emigrants, and native workforce). The result then reveals a negative effect of immigrants inflow and native workforce on wage levels in the short run but a positive effect, in the long run, suggesting that the labor migrants inflow is imperfectly substitutable in the Russian labor market. The result also shows a positive effect of migration policy on wages both in the short and long run, indicating that the strict migration policy can hinder the competitiveness of the labor force in the labor market.

Media Coverage of Labor Migrants in Russia during the COVID-19 Pandemic

ABSTRACT This study explores media coverage of migration in Russia during the first few months of the COVID-19 pandemic. We analyzed and coded articles published in six mainstream Russian newspapers and on one popular news site between March 1 and June 30 of 2020. Our results confirm key findings of the literature on media and migrants in Russia over the last decade, including the frequent portrayal of migrants as a security threat, a focus on legality and illegality, and the absence of a migrant voice. However, contrary to our expectations, not all sources significantly covered the topic of COVID-19 infections among migrants. Overall, our paper contributes to a growing literature examining the securitization of migrants in non-Western contexts and initiates a discussion of how a pandemic might exacerbate this phenomenon.

Labor migration and development of human resources of the Kyrgyz Republic

The purpose of the presented research was to study the impact of labor migration on the development of human resources in Kyrgyzstan. Before collecting the data, several theoretical assumptions were identified, ranging from personal experiences of migrant workers to their remittances and new skills acquired during the migration process. A common finding of the literature on migration is that migrants are more likely to choose self-employment upon return to their origin countries. This has led to the belief that return migration stimulates entrepreneurship in source countries and hence support economic development. In this paper we test these assertions, drawing on the study of life in Kyrgyzstan, a rich longitudinal data set from transition economies with high levels of international temporary migration. We find that for return migrants, self-employment is often a temporary occupational choice, suggesting that self-employment serves as a 'parking lot'. This research used case studies with quantitative and qualitative data, as well as the authors' sociological studies. Analysis of interviews with 25 current labor migrants in Russia and 25 repatriates in Kyrgyzstan concerned the following aspects: problems and benefits of migration; development of new skills; use of money transfers; reasons to return; employment or self-employment; remittances as investments and governments assistance in entrepreneurial activities of returnees. According to the research results, it was concluded that labor migration has an impact on development, which falls within the framework of the development of human resources. This is especially noticeable with regard to remittances and new skills brought by labor migrants to the Kyrgyz Republic.

THE PRINCIPLE OF “SELECTED MIGRATION” IN FRS AND THE POSSIBILITIES OF ITS USE IN THE PROCESS OF REGULATING THE RIGHTS OF LABOR MIGRANTS IN THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION

The purpose of the research. The article examines the principle of “selective migration” as a modern pragmatic approach to the regulation of migration processes; analyzed the features of its use in the migration policy of France; the possibilities of using the French experience in the process of regulating migration and the rights of labor migrants in Russia are determined. The article determines that the principle of “selective migration” is aimed at providing national economies with highly qualified labor force, while the countries of the “third world” are currently suppliers of high-quality labor resources, which requires their active involvement in the struggle for minds, abilities and talents. The French experience of using the principle of “selective migration” is analyzed, it is noted that during the twentieth century this principle was transformed, although throughout the history of its development it carried a “pragmatic element” based on the national interests of France. At the same time, the pragmatics of this principle came into conflict with the general principles of law, until at the present stage it acquired the features of a social concept of ensuring the rights of labor migrants, which is enshrined in the relevant documents. The attractive aspects of the French approach, which are “softness” to regulation based on the principle of “selective migration”, are noted, it is determined that the French model can be adapted to modern Russian conditions. Output. As a result of the study, it was determined that the French version of the implementation of the principle of “selective migration” is most consistent with modern socio-economic development and the ability of our country to compete with Western countries in this aspect of migration policy. The article provides a number of recommendations regarding the use of the French experience in regulating migration processes, notes the need to combine the “principle of selective migration” with the protection of the social rights of migrants, which corresponds to the French model.

САМОЧУВСТВИЕ ТРУДОВЫХ МИГРАНТОВ В ПЕРИОД ПАНДЕМИИ: РОССИЙСКИЙ КЕЙС

This report is devoted to the analysis of the situation of labor migrants in Russia, as well as migrants who were unable to come to Russia after the borders were closed. In what types of economic activity has the decline in employment become particularly painful for migrants? What is their financial situation? How ready are they to leave Russia if transport links are restored? What are their immediate and long-term plans related to work and life in Russia? The second focus of the study is on potential migrants who were unable to enter Russia after international transport links were severed. What is their economic situation at home? How quickly are they going to go to Russia in case of the removal of restrictions on international travel? To what extent will their arrival deter the fear of a coronavirus pandemic? What are their short — and long-term plans for staying in Russia? This report is based on an online survey of 2,695 foreign citizens, as well as a telephone survey (CATI) of 300 migrant workers in the Moscow megalopolis conducted in the first half of June 2020.

ТАДЖИКСКИЕ ОБЩИНЫ В РОССИЙСКИХ РЕГИОНАХ В ПЕРИОД ПАНДЕМИИ COVID-19: ЗАНЯТОСТЬ И СОЛИДАРНОСТЬ

In the course of field research, statistical and sociological data were collected on the number, socio-demographic structure and problems of Tajik migrants in various regions of the Russian Federation. During the COVID-19 pandemic in Russia, Tajik migrants faced social and economic difficulties. The pandemic has significantly complicated the situation of Tajik citizens — temporary labor migrants in Russia. Many were unable to leave Russia before the borders were closed, and during the lockdown they lost their jobs and sources of income. The loss of a job turned into problems both for the migrants who remained in Russia and for their families, who could not receive remittances from Russia. Many labor migrants were forced to look for work, adapt to the new socio-economic situation, experienced pressure from the security forces, lost their health and were in a state of stress. Labor migrants from Tajikistan, who initially lost income during the lockdown in April-May 2020, were gradually able to adapt to the new socio-economic conditions and restore their monetary income, continuing to provide assistance to their families in their homeland. Three types of Tajik public associations in Russia have been identified and described: organizations positioning themselves through the ethnocultural component and carrying out cultural projects; organizations providing various types of assistance to citizens and immigrants from Tajikistan (for example, labor migrants); organizations uniting representatives of socio-demographic groups from Tajikistan (for example, working with youth). The article also analyzes the forms of solidarity of Tajik communities during the COVID-19 pandemic in Russia; it is revealed that the main burden of supporting Tajik migrants was carried by ethnic entrepreneurs and non-governmental organizations.

Migration to Russia: The Lowest Rate in a Decade

In 2020, the migration growth of the population of Russia has sharply decreased, amounting to 81.7 thousand people in January-September. By early winter, the number of labor migrants in Russia decreased by 25%, while the share of those legalized in the labor market has not changed. As the epidemiological situation normalizes, the scale and vector of migration should return to their previous values.

The Thorny Path of Labour Migrants in Russia: a participant observation

The article analyzes some of the problems typical for labor migration from Central Asian countries to Russia. The author presents field materials collected during participant observation in the summer of 2018. Having travelled along with several groups of labor migrants who traveled from Central Asian countries to Russia either with the assistance of the state or informally, the researcher had the opportunity to see the problems and difficulties faced by migrants on the way from their country of residence to their destination and to observe the difficulties encountered at the initial stage of job search.

‘You feel sick, you get sick, you still keep going’: Central Asian female labour migrants’ health in Russia

ABSTRACTRussia is host to one of the largest populations of labour migrants, who primarily come from Central Asia. There remains a dearth of information about the health of this population, in particular Central Asian women. We conducted a qualitative, exploratory study on the health concerns and healthcare utilisation among Central Asian female labour migrants in Russia. We conducted in-depth interviews with service providers and female labour migrants between June and November, 2017. We used thematic analysis to identify the following themes: there is a range of health concerns, including sexual and reproductive health issues; economic vulnerability and racial/ethnic discrimination influence health and utilisation of services, and constrain making health a priority; access to information is lacking; issues of trust, language and cultural norms influence healthcare service utilisation; and, social support is important to consider. Our findings reflect how religion, gender, ethnicity, and socio-economic position intersect to influence health and utilisation of services. These findings have implications for public health programming and interventions among this largely neglected population, as well as make an important contribution to the existing global health literature on women, migration, and health.

Effective Forms and Means of Preventing Criminal Activity of Migrant Workers in Russia

The article is devoted to an urgent criminological problem connected with the insufficiently controlled and illegal external labor migration into the Russian Federation, which poses a considerable threat to its national interests and public safety. The author presents and analyzes new statistical data regarding the qualitative and quantitative characteristics of crimes committed by labor migrants in Russia as well as their other criminologically relevant characteristics, he singles out and describes economic, psychological, legal and socio-political prerequisites and factors of crimes committed by labor migrants in Russia. It is noted that modern Russian society is characterized by worsening criminogenic situation and processes that lead to hostile and aggressive behavior and intolerance towards labor migrants, which exacerbates both the criminal situation and the interethnic and interfaith conflicts and increases the manifestations of everyday xenophobia, migrant phobia, and nationalism from the locals. The author draws attention to the fact that criminogenic factors in the labor migrants’ environment are mainly connected with a low degree of social adaptation, acculturation and integration of labor migrants into the Russian social and cultural environment due to their poor knowledge of the Russian language, history and culture, the basics of Russian legislation, traditions and customs of social interaction, the absence of a substantial and constant intercultural dialogue or productive information exchange, comprehensive and resourced state and municipal projects and programs aimed at the socialization, successful integration, and social support of labor migrants. In this connection, the author suggests new, effective and optimal anti-criminogenic directions and formats of integration and adaptation work with labor migrants living and working in the Russian Federation that could improve their law abidance, general and legal culture, responsible attitude to social norms; the author also outlines prospective measures of general and special prevention of crimes committed by external migrants.

In the Bullseye of Vigilantes: Mediated Vulnerabilities of Kyrgyz Labour Migrants in Russia

<p>Hundreds of thousands of Kyrgyz labour migrants seek opportunities in Russia where they fall target to retaliation of vigilante citizens who find offence in the presence of alien labourers in their homeland. Vigilantism also takes place within this migrant ‘community’ where male Kyrgyz labour migrants engage in retaliation on female migrants over perceived offences such as dating non-Kyrgyz men. On several occasions between 2011 and 2016 videos featuring honour beating of female labour migrants by fellow countrymen shook the internet. The selected case illustrates vulnerabilities experienced by migrants due to xenophobia and hostility of the host state, as well as additional layers of vulnerabilities linked to gendered biases that ‘travel’ across borders along with compatriots in migration. The study argues that offline structures, norms, biases, violence, and stigma not only reincarnate online, where they culminate in vigilante acts, but consequently, they re-enter the offline discourse and go through further normalization and justification.</p>

Can smartphones empower labour migrants? The case of Kyrgyzstani migrants in Russia

ABSTRACTIn the last two decades, mobile phones and new technologies have transformed migration. Some scholars argue that they help empower migrants, who are otherwise often marginalized in their host country. We discuss the extent to which this is true for Kyrgyz labour migrants in Russia, a relatively large diaspora that suffers from multiple levels of disempowerment, ranging from precarious living and working conditions to a lack of legal support and representation from their home government. Relying on fieldwork conducted in Kyrgyzstan in 2017 and 2018, we explore the extent to which smartphones are enabling Kyrgyz labour migrants in Russia to be informed about migration rules, help each other abroad, connect as a diaspora, and discuss important diaspora topics. Our findings are relevant beyond academia, as many international and governmental agencies are trying to assist migrants through technology; they also point to several missed opportunities for these organizations.

Формы взаимодействия низкоквалифицированных трудовых мигрантов и работодателей в принимающих обществах (на примере Греции, России и Франции)

Павел Петрович Лисицын – к. с.н., доцент, Санкт-Петербургский государственный университет; Санкт-Петербургский государственный экономический университет; Санкт-Петербург, Россия. Электронная почта: fox_sociology@mail.ru
 Александр Михайлович Степанов – научный сотрудник, Санкт-Петербургский государственный экономический университет; ассистент, Санкт-Петербургский государственный университет, Санкт-Петербург, Россия. Электронная почта: 9160001@inbox
 Статья рассматривает формы взаимодействия между участниками процесса трудовой миграции: низкоквалифицированными внешними трудовыми мигрантами и работодателями в Греции, России и Франции. Эти страны характеризуются различной миграционной политикой, но сходны в том, что на их рынках труда присутствует значительное число низко- и неквалифицированных трудовых мигрантов. Эмпирический материал, который служит основой для анализа, собран в ходе серии исследований в девяти крупных городах (Москва, Санкт-Петербург, Иваново, Самара, Ростов-на-Дону, Тольятти; Афины, Салоники; Париж) в 2016–2017 гг. Авторами проведено 186 качественных фокусированных интервью с внешними трудовыми мигрантами, выполняющими низко- и неквалифицированную работу; с их работодателями; с представителями государственных учреждений, в чьи обязанности входит работа с мигрантами; с представителями посредников, введенных работодателями, трудовыми мигрантами или государством для отстаивания интересов соответствующих субъектов. Трудовые мигранты в России были гражданами Узбекистана и Таджикистана, трудовые мигранты во Франции – Марокко, Украины и России, в Греции – России и Украины. По характеру труда информанты представляли типичные сферы занятости мигрантов: строительство, текстильную индустрию, торговлю, сферу обслуживания. Отталкиваясь от различия между формальными (юридическими) и неформальными правилами, реализующимися в повседневных практиках акторов, авторы выделяют практики и условия взаимодействия между трудовым мигрантом и работодателем, определяемые балансом социально-экономических интересов участников: (1) «серое» правовое поле для мигрантов; (2) спрос на неквалифицированную иностранную рабочую силу на средних и крупных предприятиях; (3) «мигрантизацию» секторов экономики с возможностью формирования этнических экономических ниш; (4) прекарное положение мигрантов на принимающей территории. Представленные формы взаимодействия не только закрепляются, воспроизводятся и транслируются в повседневных практиках, но и поддерживаются участниками, несмотря на их противоречие формальным юридическим правилам.