Labor Migration of Kalmykia’s Rural Residents: a Case Study of In-Depth Interviews

• Main Author: Nogan V. Badmaeva
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Российской академии наук, Калмыцкий научный центр 2020-12-01
• Series: Oriental Studies
• Subjects: labor migration; rural population; biographical method; in-depth interview; republic of kalmykia
• Online Access: https://kigiran.elpub.ru/jour/article/view/2545/2339

Introduction. Labor migration of Kalmykia’s rural population is a pressing challenge for the region. Permanent nature and endurance of the socioeconomic crisis in the agricultural sector of the republic have been adversely affecting the living standards of ordinary villagers. Lack of work opportunities and low salaries result in that the latter migrate en masse to the regional capital and even further. Goals. The study aims to analyze labor migration experiences of local rural dwellers. Materials and Methods. The paper summarizes a number of in-depth structured interviews. The qualitative research methods employed make it possible to view the issue in the eyes of unrelated actual participants of the migration processes, with certain attention paid to their backgrounds and life paths. Results. The work reveals one of the key economic factors underlying labor migration is the necessity to pay mortgage and consumer loans. And migration waves closely align with individual life cycles, such as marriage, divorce, births and even weddings of children. Some respondents reported their migrations were determined by certain adulthood stages of children. All these aspects give rise a new context of family and marriage relations: there emerge guest marriage patterns and changes in gender roles, e.g., in some families those are women who act as migrant workers. Roles of grandparents experience transformations forcing the latter to assume functions of the absent father of mother. Horizontal social networks come to the fore, including territorial and kindred ties. Such migrant labor experiences become a tool of economic strategies and mobility: people purchase dwellings in the city, and support children funding their plans with the earned money. So, migration of parents definitely serves a landmark for future migrations of their descendants. The results obtained attest to that the social profile of rural labor migrants contains quite a share of active individuals intensely motivated to work, ones who strive for better living standards and can adjust themselves to strenuous living / working conditions staying away from home and family.