Symbolic Violence as a Factor in the Integration of Transboundary Migrants from Central Asia and the South Caucasus into Siberian Cities

Abstract

This article examines violence experienced by transborder migrants in Siberia and analyzes its impact on the integration of newcomers and individuals from migrant backgrounds. The study draws on interviews conducted between 2019 and 2024 in Irkutsk, Krasnoyarsk, and Tomsk with migrants from South Caucasus and Central Asia. It advances hypotheses on how different forms of violence shape migrants’ quality of life and integration trajectories. Violence most frequently emerges in three contexts: the family, the workplace, and school. Respondents referred primarily to symbolic violence; accordingly, the analysis focuses on this form of violence. In all three contexts, violence is often rooted in a shared belief—present in both migrant and local communities—that the mixing of group attributes (language, appearance, behavior) is unacceptable. Such mixing is perceived as a violation of the natural order. Violence, predominantly symbolic and more rarely physical, accompanies interventions aimed either at compelling individuals to abandon the attributes of the “other” group or at excluding them altogether. Second-generation migrants occupy the most vulnerable position, as they face pressures from both sides simultaneously. This is particularly pronounced for women, who often hold a lower status in migrant communities’ hierarchies. Violence generally functions as a barrier to integration in Russia, though its effects are sometimes ambiguous. Intragroup violence may push second-generation migrants toward closer engagement with the host society, while simultaneously increasing the social and emotional costs of adopting its norms. Violence from the host society may generate a persistent sense of alienation, potentially leading to emigration.

Article in Russian