ARCTIC LOCAL COMMUNITIES AND FOREIGN LABOUR MIGRATION IN THE RUSSIAN ARCTIC

Abstract

Article deals with sociological survey results of two respondents types (foreign labour migrants and local community) within five Russian Arctic regions (Yamalo-Nenetsky Autonomous District, Chukotksy Autonomous District, Republic of Karelia, Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), Murmansk Oblast). Survey results of foreign labour migrants made it possible to create a foreign labour migrant profile in the Russian Arctic — it is a man with a secondary vocational education. Survey results of local community in the Russian Arctic made it possible to calculate both conflict index and tolerance index in relation to five Russian Arctic regions. It turned out that conflict index is still quite high at Republic of Karelia and Republic of Sakha (Yakutia). More peaceful situation takes place at Chukotka Autonomous District and Murmanskya Oblast. Both empirical study and its theoretical generalization revealed foreign labour migrants’ integration issues in the Arctic as well as what might happen when social climate fluctuates. The goal of this article is to identify opportunities for cooperation between local communities and foreign labour migrants in the Arctic taking into account socio-economic and ethnic traits of Russian Arctic regions. Based on sociological toolkit identifying some tension areas a theoretical rationale was formulated in order to demonstrate how foreign labour migrants’ integration in the Arctic regions occurs and what might happen when social climate fluctuates. A structural model determining interethnic conflicts likelihood was also applied for predictive evaluation. In conclusion, it is emphasized that respondents’ survey results hold in five Arctic regions have demonstrated its “preventive” nature for the Arctic. In terms of interethnic relations, Russian Arctic is not tense and is under control. At the same time, communicative model development between foreign labor migrants and host community allowed us to see how migrants’ integration occurs in the Arctic and what might happen in social climate under certain fluctuations.

Keywords

• russian arctic
• foreign labour migration
• inter-ethnic relations
• conflict index
• tolerance index
• human capital
• local communities