How did Russian migrants go through the coronavirus pandemic? The Head of the Group presented the results of the recent research of the Group with foreign colleagues at the OSCE webinar "The impact of COVID-19 on labor migration". These results were also mentioned in the "The New York Times" article on pandemic in Russia.

In the Journal of International Migration and Integration a new article authored by Evgeni Varshaver and Anna Rocheva which reveals the association between types of 'co-ethnic' social circles and integration trajectory of migrants from Kyrgyzstan was recently issued. The full text can be assessed through the link. 

How does the integration of migrants of different generations happen in Russia and Europe? Anna Rocheva and Evgeni Varshaver discussed these and other issues with Maurice Crul, Frans Lelie, Jens Schneider and Ksenia Tenisheva at the panel organized by the Group as the part of the 5th international conference “Migration, displacement and urban development”.

The Group for Ethnic and Migration studies has successfully completed its yearly student expedition which has been organized under the auspices of the Centre for field research within the "Summer School" independent educational project for the last 2 years. This year the expedition was focused on the representation of ethnicity in local museums in Russia's national republics. The Group's researchers Evgeni Varshaver and Nataliya Ivanova, along with students from various universities and other participants, went on an expedition to Karelia and Kalmykia. To prepare for the field trip, they first worked on their research instrumentation in the Summer School in Dubna, Moscow oblast, and once returned, proceeded to analyze collected materials in that same School. The expedition has been a definite success - data has been collected and posted in a way that anyone can access and use it, participants have drawn general conclusions and, besides, each of them has been a given "a home assignment" - to write an article on one of the research issues by winter.

The life of second generation migrants from Central Asia and Transcaucasia in Russia: where they work and study, how they make friends, date, marry and identify themselves within the broader Russian society. These are the questions the Group explores in its newly published study on second generation migrants in Tumen Oblast, Siberia.

Migrants and Russia: do they want to settle or dream to go back? What are the key factors and how can state policies impact their decision? The Group delves into these and other related issues in its latest article on Russia's migrants' plans for their future.

The article which finalizes a wide-scale two-year project on integration of young adult second-generation migrants in Russia got issued in The Monitoring of Public Opinion Journal #2 (2019). We are happy to share the most comprehensive results on the topic with our international colleagues!

A new article "Localized Migrant Communities in the Absence of Ethnic Neighbourhoods: A Glimpse into Moscow’s Ethnic Cafés" authored by Group's researchers Evgeni Varshaver and Anna Rocheva has recently been issued in Urbanities - Journal of Urban Ethnography, vol. 8, #2.

We invite you to participate in the research panel on the youth with migrant background in various settings, which we are planning to organize at the Annual IMISCOE conference which will be held in Malmö, Sweden in June 26-28, 2019. [more]

Call for participation: Panel Session

Youth with Migrant Background in ‘Old’ and ‘Emerging’ Destinations

at IMISCOE 2019 (June 26-28, 2019 in Malmö)

Dear colleagues,

We invite you to participate in the research panel on the youth with migrant background in various settings, which we are planning to organize at the Annual IMISCOE conference which will be held in Malmö, Sweden in June 26-28, 2019.

The two main sets of factors shaping trajectories of the youth with migrant background in the destination countries can be designated as ‘context of reception’ and ‘characteristics of migrant families’. Presumably, established ‘immigration countries’ will have a different story of integration of youth with migrant background in comparison with the ‘emerging migration magnets.’ At the same time, the larger share of theoretical literature on the youth with migrant background has been created on the basis of research in the ‘classical’ immigrant receiving states, first of all – USA. To what extent does it remain relevant for other contexts, such as ‘emerging migration magnets’? To address this question, at this research panel we aim at bringing together scholars working on a wide array of topics related to the integration paths of the youth with migrant background (2nd generation, generation 1.5, etc) in a variety of settings – ‘classical’ as well as ‘emerging’ immigrant receiving states, rural and urban contexts. We also encourage scholars to look at the various temporal dimensions – nowadays as well as 100 years ago. Possible topics include but are not limited to the educational and labour market aspirations and trajectories of the youth with migrant background, their social ties and transnational practices, marriage and romantic relations, citizenship and belonging, parenting cultures and gender relations, values and norms, identification and religion.

The requirement of the IMISCOE conference organizers implies inclusion of the paper proposals together with the panel proposal. Thus, if you would like to participate in the panel, please, send us the abstract of about 250 words with the name and affiliation no later than November 23rd. This timeframe will allow for your individual submission, in case we are not able to include your paper in the session. The email for abstract submission and any related questions is center.migration.ethnicity@gmail.com.

Best regards,

Evgeni Varshaver and Anna Rocheva

Group for Migration and Ethnicity Research

RANEPA

In July 2018 researchers of the Group organized and held a student car expedition to the Middle Volga region of Russia, where they focused on ethnicity in poliethnic contexts.

An article by the lead researcher of the group dr. Anna Rocheva and the head of the group dr. Evgeni Varshaver 'Gender Dimension of Migration from Central Asia to the Russian Federation' was published at Asia-Pacific Population Journal, Vol. 32, # 2.

On November 8, 2017 Anna Rocheva presented a paper "Migration from Central Asia to Russia: Gender Dimension" at The Asia-Pacific Regional Preparatory Meeting for the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration in Bangkok at the invitation of the UNESCAP.

In November researcher Nataliya Ivanova took part in the course "Migrations and Refugees: Cities Experience in Europe", it was organized by Institut Barcelona d’Estudis Internacionals (IBEI).

On November 16-18 the head of the Group Evgeni Varshaver and the lead researcher Anna Rocheva participated in the conference "Labor market and Economic perspectives on large-scale Migration in Sociology" held in Mannheim (Germany). They presented a paper "Young adult second generation migrants in Russia: First evidence from the wide-scale research project".

По итогам научной-исследовательской работы  был представлен научный доклад, подготовленный сотрудниками Центра региональных исследований и урбанистики Евгением Александровичем Варшавером и Анной Леонидовной Рочевой «Интеграция мигрантов второго поколения в возрасте от 18 до 30 лет: результаты пилотного исследования».

В докладе были представлены результаты пилотного исследования интеграционных характеристик мигрантов второго поколения в России, в частности, продемонстрированы соотношения уровня образования, позиций на рынке труда и уровня заработных плат мигрантов второго поколения и сопоставимых россиян, в целом; описаны установки и практики, связанные с формированием дружеских и романтических отношений; указаны типичные пэттерны идентичности представителей этой группы.

Кроме этого, в докладе была эксплицирована методология исследования, а также указаны дальнейшие шаги для проверки гипотез, сформулированных в ходе пилотного исследования.

В мероприятии приняли участие дискуссанты Карина Джаниеровна Пипия, социолог Левада-Центра, Арсен Гарегинович Алексанян, директор музея культуры наций и специальный гость Лариса Александровна Паутова, управляющий директор Фонда «Общественное мнение».

Модератором встречи выступила Ирина Викторовна Стародубровская, руководитель Научного направления "Политическая экономия и региональное развитие" ИЭП им. Е.Т.Гайдара.

On November, 7 at the Institute for Economic Policy (Moscow) the researchers of the Group made a presentation “Second Generation Migrants in Russia: the Results of the Pilot Stage of the Research”. For the ppt. press here.

On April, 19-20 Anna Rocheva, the lead researcher of the Group, made presentations “Migration, Development and Gender” and “The Outcomes of Language Examination for Labor Migrants in Russia” at the conference "Enhancing economic and social benefits of international migration in North and Central Asia" held by UNESCAP in Moscow.

On September, 22 Evgeni Varshaver, the head of the Group, made a presentation “Integration of Migrants in Moscow Neighborhoods” at the conference “East and West: Ethnic and Confessional Communities” held at the All-Russian State Library for Foreign Literature, Moscow.

Varshaver E.A., Rocheva A.L., Ivanova N.S. Иванова. Пути повышения эффективности существующих моделей и практик интеграции мигрантов. / Препринт. М. 2015. [in Russian]