Social Mobility in Soviet and Post-Soviet Russia:a Revision of Existing Estimates Using Representative Surveysof 1994, 2002, 2006 and 2013. Part 1

Abstract

Gordey Yastrebov — Candidate of Sociological Sciences, Senior Researcher, Laboratory for Comparative Analysis of Post-Socialist Development, Higher School of Economics; Doctoral Student, European University Institute. Address: office 553, 12, Malaya Pionerskaya St., Moscow, 115054, Russian Federation. E-mail: gordey.yastrebov@gmail.com

This article revisits the evolution of intergenerational social mobility in Soviet and post-Soviet Russia. In particular, it looks at historical changes in the residential, educational and occupational mobility of Russians. The study contributes to the literature by extending the spectrum of institutional and historical contexts, in which the (in)equality of opportunity has been considered so far, re-examining existing evidence by using alternative datasets and a different methodology. For an empirical investigation I utilize data from four representative cross-national surveys conducted in Russia in 1994, 2002, 2006 and 2013. Following the theoretical arguments developed in the comparative social mobility research and being informed by their empirical findings, I anticipated (1) a trend towards lesser openness in the late years of the Soviet era; (2) a temporary discontinuity of mobility patterns during the turbulent 1990s; and (3) the stagnation of social mobility in the more stable years of Russia’s post-Soviet history. However, my findings reveal no unambiguous trends suggested by previous research, moreover they contradict some of the earlier evidence. In particular, I found (1) steadily decreasing residential mobility both in absolute and relative terms (implying increasing closure of residential communities); (2) a weakening link between parental and child educational attainment in the post-Soviet era; and (3) the invariance of social fluidity in terms of occupational attainment both in the Soviet and post-Soviet periods. The paper concludes by highlighting some of the remaining questions and possible directions for future research. Published here is the first part of the article. In this part I first draw substantive distinctions between the notions of relative and absolute social mobility and their relevance for the interpretation of data about social mobility in Soviet and post-Soviet Russia. This is followed by a discussion of the theoretical considerations, from which I draw the hypotheses, and the methodological aspects, which underpin further analyses. The empirical part begins with presenting the estimates of changes in absolute mobility.