Ethnology 

This study examines the integration of second-generation migrants from Central Asia and Transcaucasia (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan) in the Tyumen region, namely their educational and employment trajectories as well as socio-economic characteristics of their parents and the regional context of integration. The paper is based on the analysis of 169 interviews in eight localities of the region. This fieldwork is part of a larger project on second generation migrants in Russia which is conducted with mixed methods (quantitative and qualitative) and is the first all-Russia endeavour to study second generation migrants who are young adults (18–35 years old). The authors use a broad definition of second-generation migrants, including those whose parents moved to Russia and who themselves graduated from a Russian school no matter whether they were born in Russia or moved to Russia as children. The paper discusses the history of settlement of the region in the Soviet period that laid grounds for the region’s multiethnic composition and migration flows, which conti-nued after the collapse of the USSR. The transformation of migration patterns from national to international mobility has not led to significant changes in the characteristics of the migrants who have given birth to the second-generation migrants. However, notwithstanding the period of migration, these parents of the second-generation migrants differ in terms of education, qualifications and other socio-economic characteristics as well as migration trends. The educational and employment trends of the second-generation migrants as well as other young people are closely connected with the local and regional context. First, the relatively high wealth of the region due to its leading role in the oil extraction industry, together with the widespread aspirations towards higher education result in a large percentage of second-generation migrants who pursue university degrees. Second, the regional labour market centred around the oil industry provides opportunities for the university graduates to be employed not only in the big cities but also in the small towns where they were raised, which leads to their return there.

Key words: second generation migrants, Central Asia, Transcaucasia, Tyumen region, integration, educational trajectories, employment.

DOI: 10.20874/2071-0437-2019-44-1-136-145