Ethnoconfessional Factor in Social Adaptation of Migrant Workers in the Muslim Regions of Russia

Abstract

Nowadays those who study the migration of population and implement migration policy, are actively searching ways allowing to make adaptation of migrants, including migrant workers, the most comfortable and finally successful. Among the factors influencing upon the process of social and psychological adaptation religion is of the special importance. However, the possibilities of religion in the process of a personality and group adaptation to the changing life conditions have not been investigated enough and therefore have been seldom taken into account in practice. This fact confirms the necessity of comprehensive study of this phenomenon both from theoretical and practical point of view. The disintegration of the USSR, the economic and political instability in the republics of Central Asia and the Caucasus promoted the inflow of migrants to Russia including to the Republic of Bashkortostan since the beginning of the 1990s. In the same time the inflow of migrant workers sharply increased. For example, the number of foreign citizens from 2006 to 2008 grew more than by 3 times: from 11994 to 36236 people. Actually, according to the experts, the number of migrant workers is several times more due to illegal migration. The number of temporarily registered foreign citizens who came with the purpose "labor activity" in the Republic of Bashkortostan for 01.09.2011 made up 25731 people. The article presents the results of the sociological survey of migrant workers and considers the influence of religion on process of social adaptation of the migrant workers who arrived to the Republic of Bashkortostan in the 2000s. The survey was conducted in July, 2011.

DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2015.v6n3s4p213