Mukomel V. Regional specificity of integration of internal ethnic migrants. Federalism, 2018, Issue 2, pp. 141-160.

Abstract

The influx of internal migrants, representatives of visible minorities, into the Russian regions leads to tensions between the local population and such migrants, especially from the North Caucasus. Domestic migrants are Russian citizens, but often they are poorly integrated into local communities. The author analyzes the factors and the level of integration of internal migrants in various regions of Russia. It is shown that the level of integration of migrants depends on the state of interethnic relations, as they are perceived by the local population and migrants. The dependence of the integration of migrants on the consolidation of the local community and its benevolence has been revealed. Special attention is paid to the analysis of the integration of local residents in local communities. It is shown that the levels of integration of migrants and non-migrants into the local community are closely interrelated. Where local communities are better integrated, the integration of migrants is more successful: a favorable social context creates incentives for the integration of migrants. Particular attention is paid to the structures of identities of local residents and migrants. Migrants adopt the standards of social behavior of representatives of local communities. The structures of the migrant's identities are transformed, converging with the structures of the identities of local residents. Integrated migrants are guided by the best social inclusion patterns of the local population, and non-integrated migrants are guided by the worst asocial behaviour patterns. The article is based on the research conducted by the Institute of Sociology of FCTAS RAS in 2014-2018 in 8 regions of Russia. 6.2 thousand non-migrants migrants and 2.6   thousand non-migrants were interviewed in a universal way. The migrants were “visible minorities”, mainly from the Northern Caucasus.