Paper short abstract:

This paper addresses the effects of the deportability on the everyday lives of Vietnamese migrants who works in the two markets in Moscow, Russia, Moscow Trading Center (ТЯК Москва) and Sadovod Trade Center (ТК Садовод)

Paper long abstract:

Prior to the collapse of the USSR, thousands of Vietnamese migrants arrived through various programs that show cooperation and socialist solidarity. Following the collapse of the USSR, many of these former contract workers and international students have stayed and engaged in wholesaling and retailing businesses all over Russia. While many of these migrants were able to legalise their migration status to stay in Russia, many others remained as migrants with gray or illegal status. Despite a number of large arrests as well as tales of police brutality, Russia is still considered a favoured destination for Vietnamese labour migrants due the socialist connection and the presence of a large existing migrant community. In the large markets in Moscow, the presence of a diverse group of people has created tensions between the locals in the areas surrounding the markets and the migrants who works in these markets. Furthermore, the constant street checks, arrests, fines and/or brutality on migrants in the area surrounding these market, deportability and hostility have created a constant fear of authority in the Vietnamese community in Russia. Based on ethnographic fieldwork in Moscow, This paper addresses the effects of the deportability on the everyday lives of Vietnamese migrants who work in the two markets in Moscow, Russia, Moscow Trading Center (ТЯК Москва) and Sadovod Trade Center (ТК Садовод)