Beth Mitchneck

Migration and the quasi-labor market in Russia

This paper explores the twin concepts of labor demand and labor mobility during the Soviet and post-Soviet periods. The study uses a detailed data set on labor stock, industrial labor demand, and labor flows for the 1980s in the Yaroslavl Oblast, and data on migration and regional labor markets for all Russian regions in the 1990s. Contextual features, such as the social contract, full employment, methods of labor allocation, and a generally low rate of geographic mobility, distinguish the centrally planned quasi-labor market from the labor market in capitalist democracies. The findings suggest that net in-migration induces employment change in the current period rather than in a future period. The job creation effects appear concurrent with migration during the Soviet period. In the post-Soviet period, migration and employment relationships are not predictable based on the same relationships during the Soviet period.

“Post”-Conflict Displacement: Isolation and Integration in Georgia

The Abkhaz civil wars and continuing territorial conflicts in Georgia have resulted in the long-term displacement of more than 200,000 people since the early 1990s. Although the international and local discourse is about integrating internally displaced persons (IDPs), little research has documented the meaning of isolation or integration for the daily lives of the IDPs or the local population. We engage the discourse about integration and isolation by analyzing the composition, size, and density of social networks in the “post”-conflict environment and the socio-spatial characteristics of social interactions and social networks. We combine a formal social network analysis with a daily path analysis to explore how socio-spatial patterns are formative of social networks and explore how various demographic factors, including gender, dwelling status, and employment status, may be related to the nature of social interactions and social networks. Our results are initially puzzling and suggest the need to rethink the meaning of isolation and integration within postconflict situations. We had expected to find greater diversity of social interactions in both populations, especially IDPs in private accommodations, because they are generally thought to have more diverse social interactions. The social network and daily path analyses, however, suggest evidence of social isolation within social networks among the entire population, not only among IDPs. We find a high degree of social isolation in two ways: (1) the persistent dominance of family and kin in all social networks and (2) highly dense (or closed) social networks in the entire population across gender, dwelling, and migrant status. The only demographic factor that appears to distinguish patterns is whether an individual engages in income-generating activity. Finally, using narrative interviews, we also explore the meaning of integration and isolation during displacement in the Georgian context.

PANEL ON PATTERNS OF DISINTEGRATION IN THE FORMER SOVIET UNION

A panel of geographers and scholars in related fields assesses the consequences of diverse and far-reaching geographical patterns accompanying the break-up of the USSR. These include patterns of heightened interethnic conflict in support of territorial and cultural claims; accelerated outmigration resulting from ethnic re-stratification in the non-Russian republics; disrupted trade flows and economic protectionism; emerging transborder economic ties; unemployment and changes in employment structure; new administrative arrangements and problems in transportation; new local systems of financing and governance; privatization in agriculture and interruption of food distribution chains; and reorganization and retrenchment of environmental protection activity.

A recipe for change: Creating a more inclusive academy

Using data, selecting leaders, and changing rules Although there has been a welcome increase in discussion about gender disparities in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), broad participation of women from all backgrounds in academic STEM will not be achieved until institutions are transformed. A long-range view is needed to change the rules of the game, such that institutional culture and practices create workplaces where all scientists and engineers want to be. We lay out a six-point plan of what needs to change, who should participate, and how actors outside of the academy should have direct involvement in the process.

THE REGIONAL GOVERNANCE CONTEXT IN RUSSIA: A GENERAL FRAMEWORK

This study examines the general context of the urban and regional policy-making environment in Russia by analyzing responses to a 1997 survey of local government officials. The survey posed questions such as: “What do local and regional government actors believe are their most critical problems and policy priorities?”, “How do they choose their policy priorities?”, and “How does urban and regional governance occur in this unstable environment?” Analysis of the survey responses suggests that policy makers throughout Russia have remarkably similar perceptions of their policy-making environments. Alliance building and the use of cooperative agreements among government officials at all geographical scales, business partners, and the media characterizes the general context of policy making in Russian cities and regions. The Soviet past shapes current practices and structures of regional governance. While public participation is still limited, the locus of power to act in this new political economy has dramatically shifted from the government to the private sector. [Key words: governance, local economic development, Russia.]

Panel on Social Dimensions of Interdependence in the States of the Former USSR

A panel of geographers and social scientists discusses a broad range of social issues related to the integration and disintegration of the former Soviet Union. Among the factors affecting and affected by the altered character of social interaction in the former USSR and addressed in the panel are patterns of geographic settlement, labor force patterns, ethnoterritoriality, and return migration of Russians to Russia. The presentations focus on Central Asian and Russian ethnic groups in order to illustrate the consequences of interregional migration on both indigenous and nonindigenous peoples. 8 tables, 2 maps, 1 graph, 17 references.

Displacing Blame: Georgian Internally Displaced Person Perspectives of the Georgia–Abkhazia Conflict

This article analyzes the views of Georgians, focusing primarily on those displaced from Abkhazia, and examines who they blame for the Georgia–Abkhazia conflict and what they think about Abkhazians. How groups assign blame affects the potential for reconciliation. Very different justifications are offered by those affected by conflict. These discourses of legitimation help to explain the conflict, and provide a narrative for the hostilities/war. For Georgian internally displaced persons, the blame for the conflict falls on Russia. For Abkhazians, the blame is placed on Georgians. Although both discourses are different, they each displace blame from themselves and their own agency and actions that played a significant role in the conflict, as well as in some of the atrocities that have been documented to have taken place on both sides.

Governance and land use decision-making in Russian cities and regions

Abstract Using results of an elite survey from the late 1990s, this study examines various arguments to explain the roots of the slow pace of land marketisation in Russia. These include three arguments that focus in turn on structural impediments, resource generation opportunities provided by land ownership, and domineering local governments. The study also analyses two other explanations of spatial differences: the impact of local economic and demographic structure and urban governance. Findings offer some support for each of the dominant approaches but little evidence to support the importance of local economic structure. However, an analysis of governance and social practices are found to be useful in highlighting the relationship between beliefs, practices, and land allocation.