Turakayev M.S. Habitus and Everyday Practices of the Long-Distance Commuters of Bashkortostan. Journal of Sociology and Social Anthropology, 2016, Issue 3, pp. 189-202.

Abstract

The article reveals the habitus and daily practices of the long-distance commuters, who live in the rural areas of the Republic of Bashkortostan. The habitus of the long-distance commuters consists of dispositions, functioning as incorporated cultural capital (education, leisure time, social activities), which is manifested in their daily practices and lifestyle. It is expressed in the structure of the working and leisure time of the informants, appearing as mental dispositions (watching TV, using computer, reading books, chat, practice of maintaining and (or) deteriorating of health etc.…) and corporeal dispositions. This paper discusses the mental dispositions of the long-distance commuters. The advantages and disadvantages of the fly-in fly-out method are highlighted by the workers, evaluating adaptation to the difficult schedule and working conditions and positive possibilities of free time while at home. The author identifies the characteristics of transition of the long-distance commuters from one social space to another: from home to «vakhta» (place of work) and back. They are revealed in difficult adjusting to a more severe climate, to a new physical and social environment: from family to colleagues and vice versa. The rural lifestyle is deeply rooted in the dispositions of the long-distance commuters, enhanced by well-established social ties and particular economic circumstances. The long-distance commuters are attached to the place by their lifestyle and are reluctant to change their lives. Long-term repeated practices of the long-distance commuters in the social space of home and «vakhta» (place of work) perpetuate in dispositions. Everyday practices of the long-distance commuters and persistent dispositions retain these workers at the borderline situation of labor migrant (at work) and local resident (full member of family and local community).