Central Asia labour migrants: A case study of forms of migrant housing and neighbour relations in the Siberian cities of Tomsk and Irkutsk
The article addresses one of the issues, unfortunately, not much touched upon in the social sciences in Russia, which is migrant housing. It aims to show some of the 'types' of housing that labour migrants from Central Asia find themselves in in two Siberian urban centres, namely Irkutsk and Tomsk. In addition, forms of neighbour relations among migrants are discussed, and an ethnographic description of some specific housing conditions is given. The article is based on 60 interviews conducted in Tomsk in 2018 and on 40 interviews carried out in Irkutsk in 2019, as well as on a survey done in Tomsk, with 300 questionnaires collected as a result - all the research having been undertaken in so-called 'vernacular' parts of the two cities, that is, parts defined based on people's perception rather than administrative division. The results indicate that most migrants in the study opt for economy-class housing, while at first often having to live in the homes of their relatives, friends, colleagues and compatriots, who also help orient them to the city.