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Migrants from Sub-Saharan Africa in Moscow: social distinctions and life strategies
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Migrants from Sub-Saharan Africa in Moscow: social distinctions and life strategies
Annotation
PII
S086919080002875-9-1
DOI
10.31857/S086919080002875-9
Publication type
Article
Status
Published
Authors
Dmitri Bondarenko 
ORCID: 0000-0003-2020-3553
Occupation: Vice-Director for Research, Institute for African Studies, Russian Academy of Sciences; Director, International Center of Anthropology, National Research University Higher School of Economics; Professor, Center of Social Anthropology and Faculty of Histor
Affiliation:
Institute for African Studies, Russian Academy of Sciences
International Center of Anthropology, National Research University Higher School of Economics
Center of Social Anthropology and Faculty of History, Political Science and Law, Russian State Unive
Address: Russian Federation, Moscow
Edition
Issue 6
Pages
162-171
Abstract

The changes since the breakup of the USSR had a significant impact on the social composition of African migrants in Moscow, as well as on their life strategies. In this article, we distinguish between two social groups of African migrants: “affluent” and “surviving”. Almost all affluent migrants are those who once came to study at Soviet universities. They have been living in Russia for at least twenty years, obtained Russian citizenship (mainly through marriage), speak Russian fluently, are very familiar with the Russian lifestyle, enjoy support from Russian family members and are respected in their home countries; they have native Russians as close friends, are happy to see their children being well integrated into Moscow city life, and are always welcome in their motherlands’ embassies in Moscow. The surviving Africans are mainly recent economic migrants and refugees, whose arrival became possible only in the post-Soviet era. For most of them, matters are complicated: they face the fact that their educational background and Russian language skills are considered insufficient, they have a poor knowledge of Russian lifestyle, and they also suffer from differences in climate; few, if any, have Russian friends, and their financial means are very limited, with little hope for any kind of support by the home country’s official representatives. The Africans from the two social groups usually use radically different life strategies to embroider themselves into the fabric of Russian society: while the affluent opt for maximum inclusion into the mainstream socio-cultural milieu, the survivors rely on cooperation amongst each other. While one group seeks integration into Russian society, the other limits itself to mere adaptation to life in Moscow.

Keywords
African migrants, Moscow, community, diaspora, social distinctions, life strategies, sociocultural integration, socio-cultural adaptation
Received
08.11.2018
Date of publication
27.12.2018
Number of purchasers
13
Views
2338
Readers community rating
0.0 (0 votes)
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References

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