Life strategies of Russia’s Germans
Shabayev Yu.P.
Ethnography Department, Institute of Language, Literature and History, Komi Science Center, Ural Branch, Russian academy of sciences, Syktyvkar, Russia shabaev.hist@mail.komisc.ru
Goncharov I.А.
Syktyvkar State University, Syktyvkar, Russia
Sadokhin A.P.
Russian Academy of National Economy and State Service under the President of the Russian Rederation, Moscow, Russia sadalpetr@yandex.ru
Shabayev Yu.P., Goncharov I.А., Sadokhin A.P. Life strategies of Russia’s Germans. Sotsiologicheskie issledovaniya [Sociological Studies]. 2016. No 1. P. 100-107
The article summarizes results of a survey “Life strategies of 18–35 year old ethnic Germans residing in Russia based on their social and ethnic self-identification”. Survey was held in multi-national regions of Russia with a complex ethnic composition, sizable territory and rather large area populated by the target ethnic group in a decentralized manner. Some social volunteers from Germany took part in the research activities. The survey involved analysis of migration map of young Germans living in Russia, whether they intent to emigrate from Russia and how their multi-angle ethnic identity was formed. On top, the research addresses the topic of the social status of German people moving from Russia to Germany, adaptation problems they experience and manners of getting employed. Authors use various qualitative and quantitative methods to study job strategies and career aspirations of young Germans born in Russia. Sociological interview is the main method to understand and classify national and ethnic identities of the young Germans arriving from Russia as well as to identify the role of ethnic background in the development of their cultural framework and linguistic skills.