Chinese Migrants in Post-Soviet Russia: Purpose of Entering and Attitude of Host Society

Chinese Migrants in Post-Soviet Russia:
Purpose of Entering and Attitude of Host Society


Avdashkin A.A.

Cand. Sci. (Histor.), Senior Research Fellow, South Ural State University, Chelyabinsk, Russia adrianmaricka@mail.ru

ID of the Article:


South Ural State University is grateful for financial support of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation (grant No. FENU-2020-0021).


For citation:

Avdashkin A.A. Chinese Migrants in Post-Soviet Russia: Purpose of Entering and Attitude of Host Society. Sotsiologicheskie issledovaniya [Sociological Studies]. 2021. No 5. P. 84-93




Abstract

In the article, the author showed the peculiarities of Chinese migration to Russia over the past three decades. Based on the analysis of the qualitative and quantitative parameters of migration waves, the main vectors of “Chinese” migration are determined, the factors of the change in the prevailing migrant groups and the spheres of their employment are identified, and the reaction of the host society to their presence is considered. The main points of attraction for “Chinese” migrants in post-Soviet Russia are Moscow and St. Petersburg. The peripheral “Chinese” markets and trading communities that developed after the collapse of the USSR in the 2000s have gone through a difficult process of transformation. The instability of the Russian economy, the devaluation of the ruble and the growth of xenophobic sentiments led to a contraction in the 2010s influx of labor from China. As a result, by the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, tourist and educational migration became predominant. To date, organized Chinese communities have formed only in the capital cities. In the rest of the Russian regions of the country, such structures are absent or barely noticeable.


Keywords
migration; the Chinese; xenophobia; shuttle traders; labor migrants; tourists; educational migration

References

Alexseev M.A. (2001) Socioeconomic and Security Implications of Chinese Migration in the Russian Far East. Post-Soviet Geography and Economics. Vol. 42. No. 2: 122–141. DOI: 10.1080/10889388.2001.10641166.

Avdashkin A.A. (2020) “Chinese” Market in the Space of a Russian City (the Case of Chelyabinsk). Vestnik Arheologii, Antropologii i Etnografii. No. 2: 147–156. DOI: 10.20874/2071-0437-2020-49- 2-13. (In Russ.)

Avdashkin A.A. (2021) “Chinese” Greenhouses in the Rural Space of the Russian Region (the Case of the Chelyabinsk Region). Vestnik Arheologii, Antropologii i Etnografii. No. 1: 179–187. DOI: 10.20874/2071-0437-2021-52-1-17. (In Russ.)

Balzer H., Repnikova M. (2010) Migration between China and Russia. Post-Soviet Affairs. Vol. 26. No. 1: 1–37. DOI: 10.2747/1060-586X.26.1.1.

Curanović A. (2012) Why Don't Russians Fear the Chinese? The Chinese Factor in the Self-Identification Process of Russia. Nationalities Papers. Vol. 40. No. 2: 221–239. DOI: 10.1080/00905992.2011.652610.

Denisenko M., Chernina E. (2017) The Migration of Labor and Migrant Incomes in Russia. Problems of Economic Transition. Vol. 59. No. 11–12: 886–908. DOI: 10.1080/10611991.2017.1431482.

Dixon M. (2010) Emerging Chinese Role in Shaping St. Petersburg’s Urban Landscape: Interscalar Investment Strategies in the Development of a Residential Megaproject. Eurasian Geography and Economics. Vol. 51. No. 6: 803–819. DOI: 10.2747/1539-7216.51.6.803.

Dyatlov V.I. (2016) Chinese Migrants and the Dynamics of China Phobia in Russia. In: Malakhov V.S., Simon M.E. (eds) Transnational Migration and Contemporary States in Conditions of Economic Turbulence. Moscow: Izd. dom “Delo” RANEPA: 230–248. (In Russ.)

Dyatlov V.I. (2020) ‘Ethnic Markets’ – Migrant Localities in Post-Soviet Urban Space. Zhurnal issledovaniy sotsialnoy politiki [The Journal of Social Policy Studies]. No. 4: 577–592. DOI: 10.17323/727-0634- 2020-18-4-577-592. (In Russ.)

Gelbras V.G. (2001) How Many Chinese are there in Russia? Vestnik Evrazii [Acta Eurasica]. No. 1: 71–87. (In Russ.)

Grigorichev K.V. (2016) “They Are but They aren't there”: “Chinese” Greenhouses in the Suburban Space. Etnograficheskoe obozrenie [Ethnographic Review]. No. 4: 137–153. (In Russ.)

Grigorichev K.V. (2020) The 'Wrong' Type of Chinese and the 'Captured' City: Contesting of Urban Spaces and Constructing Practices of Interacting with the 'Other'. Zhurnal issledovaniy sotsialnoy politiki [The Journal of Social Policy Studies]. No. 4: 593–608. DOI: 10.17323/727-0634-2020-18-4- 593-608. (In Russ.)

Kireev A.A. (2016) China in Russia, Russia in China: Ethnic Aspect of Migration between the Two Countries in the Past and Present. Asian Ethnicity. Vol. 17. No. 1: 67–89. DOI: 10.1080/14631369.2015.1086090.

Koreshkova Yu.O. (2021) Chinese Greenhouses: An Echo of the Soviet Past (Siberian Cases). Etnograficheskoe obozrenie [Ethnographic Review]. No. 1: 145–162. DOI: 10.31857/ S086954150013602-2. (In Russ.)

Larin A.G. (2017) Chinese Diaspora in Russia. Kontury global'nyh transformacij: politika, ekonomika, pravo [Outlines of Global Transformations: Politics, Economics, Law]. Vol. 10. No. 5: 65–82. DOI: 10.23932/2542-0240-2017-10-5-30-49. (In Russ.)

Larin A.G. (2009) Chinese Migrants in Russia: History and Modern Age. Moscow: Vostochnaya kniga. (In Russ.)

Larin A.G. (2011) Chinese Migrants in Russia: Problems of Adaptation and Tolerance. Etnograficheskoe obozrenie [Ethnographic Review]. No. 2: 116–129. (In Russ.)

Laruelle M., Alexseev M., Buckley C., Clem R. S., Goode J.P., Gomza I., Hale H.E., Herron E., MakarychevA., McCann M., Omelicheva M., Sharafutdinova G., Smyth R., Wilson S.S., Troitskiy M., Tucker J.A., Twigg J., Wishnick E. (2021) Pandemic Politics in Eurasia: Roadmap for a New Research Subfield. Problems of Post-Communism. Vol. 68. No. 1: 1–16. DOI: 10.1080/10758216.2020.1812404.

Lintner B. (2004) Chinese Organised Crime. Global Crime. Vol. 6. No. 1: 84–96. DOI: 10.1080/1744057042000297990.

Lukin A. (1998) The Image of China in Russian Border Regions. Asian Survey. Vol. 38. No. 9: 821–835. DOI: 10.2307/2645620.

Malakhov V.S. (2014) Russia as a New Immigration Country: Policy Response and Public Debate. Europe-Asia Studies. Vol. 66. No. 7: 1062–1079. DOI: 10.1080/09668136.2014.934140.

Malinova O. (2019) Russian Identity and the “Pivot to the East”. Problems of Post-Communism. Vol. 66. No. 4: 227–239. DOI: 10.1080/10758216.2018.1502613.

Mikhailova E., Tyuryukanova E. (2008) Migrants in retail trade: the effect of prohibitions. In: Vitkovskaya G., Platonova A., Shkolnikov V. (eds) Migration Legislation of the Russian Federation: Law Enforcement Practice. Moscow: Adamant: 13–46. (In Russ.)

Ryzhova N., Ioffe G. (2009) Trans-border Exchange between Russia and China: The Case of Blagoveshchensk and Heihe. Eurasian Geography and Economics. Vol. 50. No. 3: 348–364. DOI: 10.2747/1539-7216.50.3.348.

Shaglanova O.A. (2011) Chinese Labour Migration in the Context of a Buryat Village. Inner Asia. Vol. 13. No. 2: 297–313. DOI: 10.1163/000000011799297573.

Shlapentokh V. (2007) China in the Russian Mind Today: Ambivalence and Defeatism. Europe-Asia Studies. Vol. 59. No. 1: 1–21. DOI: 10.1080/09668130601072555.

Stepanov V.V. (2018) The Chinese in Russia. In: Tishkov V.A., Stepanov V.V. (eds) Ethnic and Religious Diversity in Russia. Moscow: IEA RAN: 417–436. (In Russ.)

Sullivan J., Renz B. (2010) Chinese Migration: Still the Major Focus of Russian Far East/Chinese North East Relations? The Pacific Review. Vol. 23. No. 2: 261–285. DOI: 10.1080/09512741003624450.

Varshaver E.A., Rocheva A.L., Ivanova N.S., Ermakova M.A. (2020) Residential Concentrations of Migrants in Russian Cities: Is There a Pattern? Sotsiologicheskoe obozrenie [Russian Sociological Review]. Vol. 19. No. 2: 225–253. DOI: 10.17323/1728-192x-2020-2-225-253. (In Russ.)

Wishnick E. (2017) In Search of the ‘Other’ in Asia: Russia–China Relations Revisited. The Pacific Review. 2017. Vol. 30. No. 1: 114–132. DOI: 10.1080/09512748.2016.1201129.

Zabyelina Y. (2012) Costs and Benefits of Informal Economy: Shuttle Trade and Crime at Cherkizovsky Market. Global Crime. Vol. 13. No. 2: 95–108. DOI: 10.1080/17440572.2012.674185.

Content No 5, 2021