Migrants Changing Themselves and Others: Translocality and Social Remittances – The Case of the Sivukh Rural Settlement

Abstract

The article discusses the influence of domestic migrants on the social relations in a sending community. The analysis draws on translocality and social remittances theories and focuses on the translocal community of Sivukh, a Dagestani rural settlement. The research is based on the results of fieldwork conducted in Sivukh as well as Saint Petersburg, Makhachkala, and Khasavyurt in 2022, which incorporated both villagers and urban migrants of the first and second generations. The analysis shows that the urban context and the lack of discrimination facilitate more intensive integration of migrants in the receiving community. Under the circumstances of translocality, such integration leads to the formation of better conditions for the generation of social remittances. The primary sources of remittances are young educated migrants and second-generation migrants, as well as higher status migrants that manage to achieve successful upward mobility in host societies. The types of localities where migrants settle can also have an impact on the forms of social remittances. The reception of social remittances in sending communities can be inconsistent and generate cultural conflicts. Some segments of sending communities are more receptive to innovations, while others are more committed to traditions.