Paper short abstract:

The research is about the integration and adaptation challenges of city-people to a life in a Russian village. The question is what actions and practices prevent highly skilled migrants from taking the position they expect in the community structure and successfully interacting with the villagers.

Paper long abstract:

My research is focused on highly skilled Russian domestic migrants who move from cities to villages (or small towns) in order to work as teachers in the countryside. These teachers are expected to work there for 2 years as part of a non-governmental program “Teacher for Russia”, aimed at solving the problem of inequality in education. Usually program participants are young people with an urban background, high social and economic status. They are motivated to improve life in the villages. Often, the villages included into the program are quite isolated due to the poor transport connection, lack of Internet and urban amenities.

Teachers expect to be welcomed and well-received in the village. They are eager to use their knowledge and resources for the benefit of local residents, however the locals are convinced that they don’t need their help. Very quickly, newcomers find themselves at the bottom of the community social structure. Furthermore, they become common objects of gossip. Locals don’t communicate with them, instead they closely control and condemn almost all their actions. 

Teachers are not acquainted with the actual local social norms, hence their usual way of presenting themselves doesn’t work. A high level of social control appears to be emotionally draining for the teachers. Many newcomers drop out of the program and leave the village, experiencing depression or developing alcohol addiction.

In my paper, I would like to describe the (un)successful experience of internal migration, its complex nature which I associate with adaptation practices.