Migration and Everyday Life Movement THR PDF

CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................ 5
CHAPTER1
ONTHEISSUEOFSTATUSANDTHEGOALSOFMIGRANTS................... 15
1.1.TheGeneralStateofMigrationinArmenia................................... 15
1.2.ObjectivesforMigration ................................................................ 17
1.3.TheProblemsofDeterminingtheMigration
ObjectiveandDestination ............................................................ 23
1.4.RepresentationofIdentityandRelatedPractices ......................... 26
1.5.PracticesofStatusArrangementandRealization.......................... 31
CHAPTER2
THEEVERYDAYLIFEANDPRACTICESOFMIGRANTSINTHE
HOSTCOUNTRY ........................................................................... 43
2.1.SpatialPractices ............................................................................ 43
2.2.TimeManagementandLeisurePractices.................................... 51
2.3.FoodRelatedPractices ................................................................ 55
2.4.ClothingRelatedPractices ........................................................... 60
2.5.TheNatureandCharacteristicsofMigrants
EverydayRelationships:PrivateandPublicPractices................... 64

CHAPTER3
THENATUREOFTHEPRACTICESOFMIGRANTS
RETURNEDTOARMENIA.............................................................. 80
3.1.ThePrivateandPublicPracticesofSeasonalLaborMigrants
AfterTheirReturntoArmenia....................................................... 82
3.2.TheEverydayLifeandPublicPracticesofMigrants
AfterTheirReturntoArmenia ...................................................... 90
3.3.SpecificCharacteristicsofthePracticesof
EverydayLifeofMigrantsAfterTheirReturntoArmenia .......... 101
3.4.FormsofCapitalandtheRepresentationofIdentity .................... 122
CONCLUSION ........................................................................................ 132

BIBLIOGRAPHY................................................................................ 136
INTRODUCTION
AimandPrimaryResearchObjectives
Forreturnedmigrants,migrationandthesubsequentreturn
are, first of all, a period of timea watershedthat separates
differentsegmentsoftheirlives.Thereareverydifferentexperien
cesoneachsideofthattemporaldividehumanexperiencesthat
consist of different everydaylives. Sometimes, the everyday life of
thepersonononesideofthattemporaldivideissodifferentfrom
theotherthatitmightappearthatthetwosidesdonotbelongto
thesameperson.However,thetwolivestendtogrowinasimilar
way.Thattendencyforrealitiesoneachsideofthedividetogrow
similarlyisguidedbytheindividualspractices.Thesearepractices
that fill the individuals everyday life and are linked to his
personality to the extent that people simply call them life. This
bookisdedicatedtotheeverydaylifeofmigrationand,atthesame
time, to the study of migration through the practices of everyday
life. For that reason, migration is not an abstract issue here. The
everydaylifeofthatpersonisanexperiencethathehasundergone
in a different spatial and temporal setting, and during that
experience,newpracticeshavetakenshapeandsolidifiedthathave
helped him reach the objectives set before him. The practices of
livingandreproductionarecentralamongthem.Theresultsofthe
reproductive process in the new location depend on how the
practices aimed towards reproduction have changed and how the
change of location or the movement across time and space have
influenced the possibility of working towards this end. To what
extent has that affected the given subject, the migrant, and how
does the latter influence his surroundings upon his return to the
motherland?
Takenbroadly,theaimofthisresearchistostudytheeffect
of migration on the social and cultural life of Armenia. As a
preliminary hypothesis, we postulate that when going from one
cultural environment to another, migrants do not just take with
them the practices characteristic of their native culture but also
form new practices or adopt the practices of the host culture,
especiallythosethatarenecessaryfortherealizationoftheirgoals.
These practices play a significant role for migrants, representing
socialandculturalcapital,andarenotlostupontheirreturn.Apart
of the migrant is embodied in the social and cultural capital in his
personality that returns to the motherland with him. This
embodimentisoftenmanifestedinoneoranothersphereofsocial
and cultural life and is transformed into other types of capital,
influencingthemigrantscurrentsituationanddrivingtheformation
ofnewpractices.Thisprocessissimilar,toacertainextent,tothe
theory of social and cultural remittances (Levitt 1998; Levitt &
LambaNieves2011),butitdiffersinthesensethattheissuesofthe
circulationandconversionofpracticesaswellassocialandcultural
capitalthroughthemeansofmigrationareimportant.
Three main research questions have been posed for this
study. First, how does migration influence the migrant during the
actual course of the migration? Then, what traces does that
influence leave on the migrant upon his return to Armenia? Third,
how does the returned migrant influence his social and cultural
environment? Within the context of the third question, the
discussion of the returned migrants influence on the processes of
civilsocietyformationisconsideredaspecificissue.Forthisreason,
wehaveinterviewedanumberoftargetresearchgroups,whichwe
have called seasonal labor migrants, returnees from longterm
migrationandeducationalorstudentmigrants.Thesegroupsareall,
in essence, returned migrants, but they differ from each other
based on the objectives and experiences of their migration. It was

interesting for us to study the extent to which the migration
objective leads to specific migration strategies and tactics and the
extenttowhichthese,inturn,leadtochangesinthemigrant.One
of the primary research objectives is then to register the changes
thatoccurinthemigrant.Thequestionthatarisesisasfollows:How
andwheredothosechangesappear?Fromthepositionofcultural
anthropology,thisquestioncanbeansweredthroughastudyofthe
migrants everyday life. Everyday life can be defined through
practices.Forthisreason,thestudyofthepracticesofeverydaylife
is preferred for this research, with the assumption that those
practices best display both the actions and the transformation of
the migrants underlying senses and perceptions. Therefore, our
researchfocusesonthequestionofhowtheeverydaypracticesof
migrants change in private and public life. What new discourse
arisesintheeverydaylifeofthemigrantinthecognitive,ethicaland
estheticsenses?Thatis,dopeoplesperceptionsoftruth andhow
toattainitortheirconceptsofbeautyanduglinessorofgoodand
evil change during the course of migration? If so, how do those
perceptions change, and what new practices are formed after the
returnfrommigration?
Theresultsofourqualitativestudyallowustostatethatone
of the most important issues for migrants is the arrangement and
reproduction of their status during migration. A migrants status
dependsonthemigrationobjectivebecausestatusplaysadecisive
roleintheorganizationandimplementationoftheactivitiesneeded
to achieve that objective. That is, a migrants actions, on the one
hand,areaimedatthearrangementofhisstatusinthehostsociety
and,ontheotherhand,ontherealizationofthatstatus.Thus,one
can identify at least two different types of practices: a) those of
statusarrangementandb)thoseofstatusrealization.Bothofthese
practices serve the purpose of achieving the individuals migration

objective. Our research data also show that the objectives of
migrantsaredifferentbutcanbecategorizedintotwolargegroups:
objectives of a strategic nature and objectives of a tactical nature.
These objectives have been described based on M. de Certeaus
definitionsofthestrategiesandtacticsofeverydaylife.Accordingto
these definitions, strategies are developed by people who form
practices themselves, whereas others become users of these
practices. Tactics are developed when people use the practices
developed by others (Certeau 1984, 3536). In other words,
strategies are practices that are selfrepresentative and self
realizing, whereas tactics belong to others. In this sense, it is
interesting to observe that a large segment of the seasonal labor
migrant population uses practices developed by others. For that
reason, their status is usually arranged by their employers. Their
practicesduringmigrationarealsousuallypredeterminedbytheir
employers, and they have very limited opportunities to change
thosepractices.
To summarize, this study has attempted to answer the
followingquestions:
1. How is the migration objective formed, and is it influenced
bythehabitusoftheindividualwhoischoosingtomigrate?
(ThetermhabitusistakenfromP.Bourdieu(Bourdieu1984,
170;Bourdieu1992,7883).)
2. How does the selection of a migration objective influence
themigrantschoiceofasocialfield(thesegmentofthehost
society, a specialized group, work environment, the
environment in which to apply ones experience in some
aspectofpubliclife,andsoon)andpracticesthroughwhich
to arrange his position in that societyi.e., his status? The
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
term field is taken from P. Bourdieu (Bourdieu 1984, 226

230; Bourdieu 1993a, 3843); P. Bourdieu defines a field as
the unity of all interactions between the positions of the
mainplayers,whoseprincipalobjectiveistoredistributethe
capitalinthefield.
How are the selection of social field and the practices of
statusarrangementandrealizationinthatterritorylinkedto
spatialpractices?
What are the links between the practices for the
arrangementofstatusanditsrealization?
How do discourse practices change, or how do migration
experiences influence a migrants cognitive, ethical and
estheticsensesandperceptions?
How do changes in practices influence the migrants
productionofsocial,culturalandeconomiccapital?
How do the migration experience and the changes (in
perceptions and practices, in habitus and in social, cultural
andeconomiccapital)thatoccurduringmigrationinfluence
themigrantsstatusafterhisreturn?
Whatnewpracticesarerevealedafterthemigrantsreturn,
and to what extent are they linked to the change in his
status?
Whichofthesepracticesarebroughtbythemigrantfromhis
placeofmigrationbysimpletransfer,andwhichofthemare
formed in the motherland under the influence of the
transformations that occurred during migration (for
example,buyinganexpensivecarusingthemoneyearnedin
thecourseofthemigrationtocreateanimpressiveindicator
of status; hiring a laborer to work on his farmland in the
village as a practice to form a new status for himself in his
9
homeenvironment;ortheuseorpresentationofnewskills
inArmeniabyamigrantwhohasundergoneanewlevelof
specialization abroad, thus helping develop his status upon
return;andsoon)?
10. How do these practices and transformations influence the
habitusofthemigrantuponhisreturntoArmenia,andhow
doesthathabitusinfluencehispublicpractices,includinghis
practicesasacitizen?
ResearchMethods
This study was conducted using qualitative research
methods. Examination of the quantitative features of the studied
topicisbeyondthescopeofthisresearch.Therefore,thereareno
statistical data regarding the topics in this particular study. If such
data are noted, they are cited from other studies on migration in
Armenia.
Aspartofthisstudy,42indepthinterviewsandparticipant
observations were conducted in the largest city of Armenia,
Yerevan, and the regional capital of the Shirak region, Gyumri, as
wellasinthreeruralcommunitiesinthesameregion.Tworesearch
casestudiesarealsopresented.
Threeprimarymigrantgroupsareincludedinthestudy:
1. seasonallabormigrants;
2. returneesfromlongtermmigration;and
3. educationalorstudentmigrants.
Seasonal labor migrants are those who have been
periodicallymigratingtoanyforeigncountrytoworkforatleasttwo
years or more, for a period of at least four months per year, and
whothenreturntotheirfamiliesinArmenia.
10
Returnees from longterm migration are those who have

traveledtoothercountriestoliveandwork,havestayedtherefor
atleastayearandthenhavereturnedtoArmenia.
Educationalorstudentmigrantsarethosewhohavegoneto
another country for educational purposes and have studied there
for at least one academic year, after which they have returned to
Armenia.
For the purposes of this study, we have used these three
categories. Broadly speaking, these people are all returned
migrants.Weestablishedthisconventionaldifferentiationprimarily
asaresultofthespecificcharacteristicsofthisstudy.Inparticular,
these characteristics include the migration objectives in the host
society,thestatusesandthemigrationpracticesofthesedifferent
groupsofmigrants.Basedonourpreliminaryexpertanalysis,these
characteristics also influence the impact that these migrants have
upontheirreturntoArmenia.
The use of individual interviews and case studies as research
methodshasallowedustoaddresstwoissuesthatweconsiderto
beimportant.Theindividualinterviewshaveallowedustostudythe
viewsonmigrationthatweconsiderinterestingandthequalitative
sideofmigrationatthelevelofindividualstories.Wehavechosen
two different case studies to address our focus on societal and
politicalprocesses.Thecasestudiesinvolvethefollowing:
1. AruralcommunityintheShirakregionthatispopulatedby
labormigrantsandreturnees;and
2. A civic initiative dedicated to municipal issues in Yerevan,
where the initiative group contains a significant number of
studentmigrants.
The participant observations allowed us to expand and
complement the qualitative research data obtained from the
individualinterviewsandcasestudies.
11
MainTheoreticalPremisesandConceptsUsed
For the given study, the scientific approaches regarding
everydaylifeandpracticesusedinsocialstudiesandanthropology
areofkeyimportancefromatheoreticalpointofview.Thetheory
of practices is the main analytical method used in this research to
studytheculturalchangesthattakeplaceasaresultofmigration.
The theoretical premises developed regarding everyday life
and practices by P. Bourdieu ((Bourdieu 1992; Bourdieu 1993;
Bourdieu 1993a; Bourdieu 1986; Bourdieu 1984), N. Elias (Elias
2000), G. Simmel (Simmel 1984; Simmel 1971), E. Goffman
(Goffman 1974; Goffman 1970) and M. de Certeau (Certeau 1984)
formthebasisfortheprimaryconceptsandtheoreticalapproaches
usedinthestudy.
From an analytical point of view, the concept of field, as
defined by P. Bourdieu (Bourdieu 1984, 226230; Bourdieu 1993a,
3843; Bourdieu 1993, 7277), and cultural capital (Bourdieu 1986,
47) servedasimportanttools.
Other important terms that are used are the concepts of
strategiesandtacticsofeverydaylife,whichareusedaccording
tothemeaningdevelopedbyM.deCerteau(Certeau1984,3538).
In the given study, one can also often observe the concept of a
practiceborder,forwhichtheconceptofframe,asdefinedbyE.
Goffman(Goffman1974,10),isusedasabasis.
The theoretical approaches to everyday life and practices
servedasimportanttoolsinthestudyoftheinterrelationshipsand
transformations that occur as a result of migration. In this article,
wehavetriedtodiscusstherelationshipbetweenthemigrantand
hishostsocietynotsomuchinthecontextofculturalbordersbut
rather in terms of practices. Our primary thesis is that the difficult
border between cultures softens and becomes easier to breach
12
when the migrant moves the border from the cultural level to the
levelofpractices.Forsuchatransitiontooccur,akeyroleisplayed
bythecrossingofanotherbordertheborderbetweenthecultural
identityofthemigrantandhisindividuality.
Theissueofbordersbetweenamigrantandthehostsociety
is one of the most important theoretical issues being discussed
currently in the literature. With respect to this issue, particular
interestingviewpointsarebeingdevelopedtodelineatethetheory
of transnationalism. For this study in particular, the discussion of
issues related to migrants is important from the perspective of
conqueringbordersbetweendifferentnationsandstates(Vertovec
2009; AlAli & Khalid 2002; Faist 2000; Levitt & Jaworsky 2007;
Boccagni 2012). This point of view gained quite a large audience,
especiallyafterA.WimmerandN.GlickSchillermovedtheconcept
of transnationalism into wider circulation by positing a thesis
addressingtheabilitytoovercomefirm,nationalborders(Wimmer
&Schiller2002).Naturally,thisideafoundwidespreadacceptance,
though it was also subjected to criticism (Waldinger & Fitzgerald
2004;Fitzgerald2002;Kivitso2001).
We have avoided fullyadopting the theoretical premises of
transnationalism because our focus was on the discussion of
conquering borders in a cultural and everyday life context but not
betweennationsinparticular.
We were also interested in the transcultural thesis, which
proposes transferring the issue of borders to a cultural level and
linksittotheissueofidentity(Ortiz1995;Bhabha1994;Said1990;
Rutherford 1990). However, we have also avoided adopting the
theoretical premises of transculturalism because the concepts that
itencompasseshavenotyetbeencompletelyclarifiedanddidnot
13
directlyservethestudyofthepresenttopic.Thisconstructprimarily
referstotheconceptsofhybridandmultipleidentities.
Another approach of interest to us was that of J. Clifford,
whointerpretedmigrationasaspecialtypeoftravelofcultures,as
aresultofwhichitisnotonlyamovementofculturesthatoccurs
butalsoatranslationinwhichthemigrantbecomesatranslatorof
sorts between his culture and a foreign culture (Clifford 1992, 96
116;Clifford1997).Inthisregard,E.Saidstheoryoftravelhasalso
beenimportantthroughitsexaminationoftheissueofthetravelof
textsthroughspaceandtime(Said1991).
Using the thesis of borders and their conquest, we
transferredthediscussionofourissuetothelevelofeverydaylife.
This theoretical approach has allowed us to examine the role of
bordersandthespecificwaysinwhichtheyareconquerednotonly
when the borders exist between cultures but also when they exist
betweenpractices.
14
CHAPTER1
ON THE ISSUE OF STATUS AND THE GOALS OF
MIGRANTS
1.1.TheGeneralStateofMigrationinArmenia
Although migration was characteristic of Armenia even
during the Soviet period, it became significant after 1991, when
Armenia declared its independence and emerged from the Soviet
Union. In the first half of the 1990s, migration gained a universal
character and became one of the countrys sociodemocratic and
economic characteristics. According to various calculations, the
number of people who have left Armenia since 1991 ranges
between 800,000 and 1,200,000 (Yeganyan 2009, 3847;
Tadevosyan2009,162; Minasyan&Poghosyan 2008,9).Theyears
from1991to1995areregardedashavingbeenaparticularlyactive
period for migration, when the number of people leaving Armenia
includedsome610,000620,000citizens.From19952001,therate
ofmigrationisthoughttohavedeclined.Thenumberofemigrants
inthisperiodisestimatedat250,000.Fortheperiodfrom2001to
2008, this number is estimated to have been 200,000 (Yeganyan
2009,3847).Inrecentyears,therateofmigrationhasonceagain
risen. According to some studies, more than 106,000 people have
leftArmeniainonlythelasttwoyears,whichis4%ofthecountrys
population(Mikaelyan2013).
Migration has dual significance for Armenia. The negative
sideofmigrationisthatitdeprivesthecountryofitsmoreableand
employable demographic. More than 82% of migrants are 2054
years old (Minasyan & Poghosyan 2008, 13). The vast majority of
15
these,approximatelythreequarters,aremen.Amongthemigrants,
55.7% have received general secondary school education, 16.1%
have received specialized secondary education, and 18.7% have
received a higher education. According to some experts, this
phenomenonisnegativefromastrategicdevelopmentpointofview
andshouldbecontrolledthroughmigrationpolicy(Yeganyan2009,
51).
Another negative phenomenon is that these migrants are
primarilyinvolvedinperformingunskilledworkthatdoesnotbring
them any professional growth or human development. Other
negativeaspectsofthemigrationphenomenonincludeexploitation,
theviolationofrightsandhealthandhygieneproblems.
However, despite all of these concerns, there is also a
positive side to migration. The remittances sent to Armenia as a
result of migration have played avery important role in mitigating
the socioeconomic tensions in the country (Hakobyan 2009, 124).
Thanks to these remittances, it has been possible to alleviate
povertyandeveninvestmoneyineducation,healthcareandother
costs of raising children (Gevorgyan 2009). In this sense, it is
important to mention that approximately 36% of householdsthis
figure is 70% if the household has a migrantreceive remittances.
Of these remittances, 77% come from Russia, 11% from the USA,
3.2% from Ukraine and 1.4% from France (Hakobyan 2009, 127).
Approximately90%ofthehouseholdsreceivingremittancesusethe
money for everyday expenses. The remaining 10% use it to fund
healthcareandeducationcosts,improvelivingconditions,engagein
leisureactivitiesororganizefamilyevents(Hakobyan2009,123).
Weshouldalsonotethattheissueofmigrationisonethatis
widely studied in Armenia. Important studies dedicated to its
various characteristics have been conducted in recent years. Some
of the topics researched relate to the issues of labor migration
16
(Galstyan 2009a; Galstyan 2006; Galstyan & Makaryan 2012;

Minasyan&Poghosyan2007;Minasyan&Poghosyan2005),return
migration(Chobanyan2012;Fleischer2012;MigrationandSkillsin
Armenia 2012; Minasyan & Poghosyan 2008), migration and
development(Tadevosyan2009;MigrationandDevelopment2009),
migration management (Galstyan 2009b; Galstyan, Prutsch & Pier
RossiLonghi 2008) and migration and demography (External and
Internal Migration of Armenia 2008) as well as remittances and
migration (Remittances and Development 2009). The conducted
studies are primarily quantitative in nature; although these have
been important, they should be complemented with qualitative
research to provide an understanding of the specificities of
migrationatacomprehensivelevel.
1.2.ObjectivesforMigration
During the individual interviews conducted with migrants,
theywereaskedtostatetheobjectivestheyhadsetforthemselves
aspartoftheirdecisiontomigrate.Ourresearchdatasuggestthat
these objectives were quite varied. A generalization of the data
allows us to distinguish the following primary reasons for the
decisiontomigrate:
a.Toearnenoughmoneytoaddresssurvivalissuesfacedby
thefamilyandtocoveritsimmediateneeds;
b.Toprovidethefamilywithamorestableanddignifiedlife
aswellasbetterprospects;
c. To develop the self by gaining new skills and abilities to
progressinlifeandachievebetterselfrealization.
a.Toearnenoughmoneytoaddresssurvivalissuesfacedby
thefamilyandtocoveritsimmediateneeds
17
A significant proportion of migrants, especially seasonal

labormigrants,insistthattheyareforcedtomigratebecauseofthe
difficult socioeconomic situation currently prevalent in Armenia.
ManyseasonalmigrantscannotfindworkinArmenia,oriftheyare
employed,theycannotearnenoughmoneytocovertheimmediate
needs of their families, such as food, clothing and heating in the
winter.
Itsdaytodayissues,mainly.Food,clothing,utilitypayments.
There were educationrelated costs too, when the children
were at college, but they have graduated now. Now its
mainly our domestic expenses. My issue was to make sure
that we had food on our table, and that was the reason for
my migration. It solves that issue. But it does not solve the
issueslinkedwithdevelopment.Mymainaimistoworkhere.
Ihavealwayswantedtogetajobhere,butitisnotworking
out.
Male,55yearsold,Gyumri/Russia(St.Petersburg)
People are leaving. Whoever has the opportunity to go
somewhere leaves. Go to the market and you will seethe
onlypeoplebuyingsomethingaretheoneswhohavehadthe
opportunitytobringoveracoupleofbucksfromRussia.With
their handful of pennies, what can the people from here
affordtobuy?
Male,50yearsold,Gyumri/Russia(Artyom)
Migrants with these objectives usually go to Russia for

seasonal work. Their migration season usually begins in March or
April and lasts until October or November. Those who engage in
seasonal labor migration for a few years also manage to address
more longterm and fundamental issues in addition to those
mentioned above, as well as to cover the costs of their childrens
educationandfamilyhealthcarerelatedexpenses.
Mymainconcernhasbeenmakingenoughmoneytosupport
myfamily.TheydontpaywellhereinArmenia;theypaytoo
18
little and that money is not enough, which is why I left. . . .

you go, you work, you make money and you come and
support your family. There is no other good side to going. It
wouldbeworseifIhadntgone.ThereisnothinginArmenia.
Thereisnoreasontostayhere.Itsjustthatourparents,our
relatives are here, so we stay, we live here My longterm
goalistobuyahousehereinthevillageandtolivetherewith
my family, separately from the rest. I am working towards
thatnow.ButIhavetostayawayalongtimeforthatsay,a
year or a year and a half. My family on my fathers side
consistsofnineteenpeople.MytwobrothersandIareliving
withmypaternalfamilythatiswhyIwantaseparatehouse.
Therearentenoughroomsforallofus.
Male,28yearsold,Marmashenvillage/Russia(Yakutsk)
b.Toprovidethefamilywithamorestableanddignifiedlife
aswellasbetterprospects
In the interviews, another stated reason for migration was
the desire to live a stable and dignified life. Migrants with this
objectiveexist in both the seasonal labor migrant group aswell as
thegroupofthosewhohaveleftArmeniaforalongertimeperiod.
Those in the seasonal labor migration group who have such
intentionsdifferfromthosewhosestrategyisjusttosurvive.Their
objectivewhenmigratingisnotjusttoearnmoneyandthenreturn
to Armenia to cover their families basic needs; they want to
develop better prospects for their family, especially their children.
Forthisreason,theyseeseasonalmigrationasatacticalstepwitha
longtermgoalofestablishingagoodmigrationhistoryandforming
social capital in the host country. This social capital can then form
thebasislaterforalongertermsolutiontotheirproblems,suchas
permanent residence and, finally, citizenship. For this reason, with
regard to their behavior in the host society, people with these
19
intentions within the seasonal labor migrantgroup differ markedly

fromthosewiththeintentiontosimplysurvive.
Iwanttogobecausetheproblemsthatexistheredontexist
there. Those basic things that a person needsthat is all
available there. That is why I want to leave, so that my
children can grow up in dignified conditions. When I talk to
people from any social level and I compare things to our
situation in Armenia, I come to the conclusion that we have
one life to live, and everyone deserves to live it in dignity.
Whenyouwakeupinthemorning,youshouldthinkaboutthe
tasks for that day, and when you lie down to sleep at night,
you should think about your tasks for the following day. A
persons everyday life is formed in such a way that it also
affects his childrens life. For example, while you can desire
thatyourchildshouldhavemoreflexibilityandabilitytopace
the way he builds his future there, that is something
impossiblehere.Iwantmychildrentoliveright,toliveahigh
qualitylife.Ihaveseenthequalityofmyownlifechange.
I am doing everything for my migration history to be clean
and exemplary. I am doing everything to avoid any
infractions.Iwanttogaincitizenship.Forthattohappen,they
have to see that you are a normal person who can be of
benefittotheircountry.
Male,29yearsold,Gyumri/Russia(Anapa)
AsformigrantswhohavereturnedfromdevelopedWestern
countries, these include people who may have left for various
reasons,buttheirprimaryobjectiveforstayinginthehostcountry
wasthesamethedesiretoliveadignifiedlifeandformthebasis
forstablelongtermlifeprospects.
Mysonwasill;thatwaswhyweleft.Then,astimepassed,we
began to work and decided to stay and live there. Its true
that the main objective in the early period was my sons
treatment, but we then saw that the conditions there were
good, there were better opportunities and life was more
20
interesting and promising, so we decided to stay, work and

livethereforawhile.
Male,46yearsold,Gyumri/Germany(FrankfurtonMain)
c. To develop the self by gaining new skills and abilities to

progress in life and achieve better selfrealization. In general, we
would like to distinguish between the two primary approaches
shown by those who stated the intention of selfdevelopment and
gaining new skills and abilities. For people employing the first
approach, selfdevelopment is more important; in contrast, the
second approach focuses more on the development of their
abilities.Itmayappearatfirstglancethatthesetwoapproachesare
notverydifferent.However,thereisoneessentialdifference.Those
who aim to accomplish selfdevelopment do not merely focus on
thedevelopmentofprofessionalqualitiesduringthecourseoftheir
migration but also make sure to acquaint themselves with
phenomena that are linked to spiritual topics or the values and
worldviewsoftheirhostsociety.
A special place in this group belongs to the people who
migrated for specialized professional development. These include
people who sought to improve their qualifications in their current
field of specialization. However, there are also those who have
migratedtogainqualificationsinanewfieldofstudy.
My main objective was to study and gain a new area of
specialization.Iwasnothappywithmypreviousareaofstudy
and wanted to learn something new. I was also dissatisfied
with education in Armenia and did not want to earn a new
qualification here because the education here is of low
quality.
Female,29yearsold,Yerevan/Sweden(Stockholm)
The main objective of migrants in this group is primarily to

gain cultural, and not financial, capital. They are significantly
21
different from the migrants being led by the survival strategy, for
whomtheonlyobjectiveformigrationistoamassfinancialcapital.
Moreover,thisgroupincludespeoplewhohavegatheredmoneyto
financetheirattemptstoobtainanew,specializedqualification.
I decided one day that something was lacking in my college
lifeorinmylifeasayoungman.Somethingwasmissing,butI
couldnotunderstandwhat....Beinginthemovies.Thatwas
my initial objective. I thought the more chances I had to
travel, the betterquality material I would make for the
cinema.So,mymainreasonforgoingtoEuropewastostudy
thereto study there and come back to Armenia and to
improvethequalityofthecinemahere,mycinema....Yes,I
have finished my education. Now the doctorate remains.
ThereisauniversityinPerugia,Italy,forthedoctorate.NowI
amintheprocessofgatheringmoneyagain.
Male,26yearsold,Yerevan/England(London)
This group has a particular place for people who primarily

wishtodevelopthemselvesandmakethetacticalstepofgoingtoa
moredevelopedcountrytostudyorwork.
My main aim is to continue to grow richer both inside and
outside. The inner wealth is traveling, meeting new people,
learning and doing new things. I also have nothing against
growingrichfinancially.WhatmattersisthatIlivethewayI
wantto,sothatIhavenoregretsforalotofthingslater.
Male,32yearsold,Yerevan/France(Paris)
There are also migrants who did not have any particular
objectivewhenleavingandwhosemigrationoccurredasaresultof
circumstances(orthroughthedecision)ofanotherperson.
Membersofthislastgrouparefewinnumber.Inour42in
depth interviews, only three people had not decided to migrate
themselves and had a member of their family or another relative
make that decision. In one case, it was the husband who decided,
whereasintheothertwocases,itwastheparents.
22
1.3.TheProblemsofDeterminingtheMigrationObjective
andDestination
A correlation can be observed between the migration
objective and the country chosen for migration. For example,
amongthepeoplewhoselectseasonallabormigrationtocoverthe
basic and immediate needs of their families, the primary group
consistsofthosemigratingtoRussia.Themainreasontheycitefor
choosing Russia is that they consider the country to be culturally
similartotheirs;thelanguagebarrierisrelativelyeasytoovercome,
and it is not difficult to obtain a visa. Russia is open to temporary
bluecollar or artisan workers, which is also very important. There
are migrant social networks already existing there that help newly
arrived migrants find jobs and settle in society. These networks
consist mainly of Armenians who have created groups with their
relatives,friends,compatriotsandacquaintances.
ThereisaforemanwholivespermanentlyinYakutsk.Heisan
Armenian.Hefindsjobsthere,makesarrangementsandthen
contacts us to say what kinds of people he needs. We get
togetherherebasedonwhathesaidandthengo.Weeachgo
on our own, and then we join this or that labor group there
withdifferentpeopleandworkataconstructionsite....Yes,
the amount we have made has been sufficient. My cousins
andIdiscusseditanddecidedtheamountwasgoodenough.
We gave them our passports; they bought the tickets for us
andwewent.Thehostsidemadeallthearrangementsforus,
including accommodations. Five of us were cousins, the rest
werefromourvillage.
Similarstoriescharacterizednearlyalloftheseasonallabor
migrantsweinterviewed.TheconvenienceofRussiaasamigration
destinationisalsoevidentinthatitispossibletosearchforandfind
23
a temporary job after ones arrival even if it was not possible to

makearrangementsforworkinadvancethroughsocialnetworks.
One of the important reasons for the Russianconnection is
that there are established migration experiences and traditions
there. The vast majority of seasonal migrants have a few years of
experience, and going to Russia is a more reliable option for them
thanchoosinganothercountrywheretheywouldhavetostartfrom
scratch and acquaint themselves with new social norms. It is very
important for the host society to introduce migrants to its
backgroundandbasicpracticesandforthemigrantstomastermost
ofthesepractices(practicesthatarenotimmediatelynoticeableat
firstglancebutthatplayadecisiveroleininterpersonalandpublic
relationships are known as background practices; this issue is
addressed by Wittgenshtein 1980, 97; Searle 1980, 227; Garfinkel
2011,54).
Itisimportanttonotethatthemigrantswhohadestablished
objectivesofselfdevelopment(ratherthansurvival)chosetogoto
developed Western countries. There are a number of reasons for
thisdecision.First,theopportunitiestoimproveonesqualifications
and gain new professional experiences are greater in those
countries. Second, Western countries provide the opportunity to
liveinadifferentculturalenvironment,expandoneshorizonsand
gain new experiences. Some migrants note the desire to earn
moneyastheirobjectiveformigratingtoWesterncountries.
Ihavealwayswantedtogoabroad.Therewerepeopleinmy
socialcirclewhowouldleaveforvariousreasonstostudy,or
throughworkandtravel.Ihavealwayswantedtogobutthen
to come back. I have never thought of going for good. But I
wanted to go to Europe or America. I was young then; I
wanted to travel and see these places, go around and also
makemoney.
Female,30yearsold,Yerevan/USA(Chicago)
24
It is also interesting to note that the interviewees included

peoplewhohadinitiallychosenRussiafortheirprofessionalgrowth
andpersonalinterestbut,afterlivingthereforawhile,decidedto
movetoaWesterncountry.
While I was there, I began to dislike Russia. It disappointed
me.Ihadntnoticedalotofthingsatfirst,butwhenIbegan
to interact with them more, I realized that they had very
chauvinisticanddegradedideastheythoughttheywerethe
best,andthatwasthat.Theyonlythoughtaboutthemselves.
ThefarthertheywerefromthosemetropolisesMoscowand
St. Petersburgthe purer their souls were; they were much
purer inside. But their brains were full of those aggressive
political ideas that they were the best. Many of them are of
the opinion that the Cold War is still going on. They are still
behindthatIronCurtain.WhenIcamebacktoArmenia,Itried
tofigureoutwaystogotoEurope.
Ananalysisoftheresearchdatafromthisstudyrevealsthat
migration objectives are closely linked to and directly lead to the
geography of the migration destination. Those people whose
migrationobjectivesstemfromasurvivalstrategyarereadytobear
any type of inconvenience as long as they can make the money
required to cover basic family needs. These people are willing to
bear inconvenience because they approach migration as a
temporary situation; they do not have any objectives toward self
development, growth or increased cultural capital. They are often
ready to adapt to unbearable and inhumane conditions. For
migrants with this strategy, the most important tactical step is to
find a job as soon as possible that does not require any major
additional effort from them. They do not spend any time on
themselves or make any investments in their own abilities. They
therefore choose to go to the country that gives them the
25
opportunitytoworktemporarilyandgaintheminimumamountof
moneytheyneedRussia.
There were all kinds of people in townKoreans, Chinese,
MordvinsandRussians.Thatwasaplaceofexileevenbackin
the time of Catherine the Greatthey would send criminals
and thieves there. The population was horriblethere was a
lotofthieveryandrobbery.Theystolealotofthingsfromus
aswelltheystoletwentyeightconstructionitemsinjustone
month.Wedidntreallyhaveanydaysoff.Wewoulddecide.
Ifoneortwopeopleneededtostayathome,theywouldstay
and do what they needed to do, but in such a way that the
task at hand would not slow down. We even worked on the
9thofMay.Thewholecitywascelebratingthatday,butthat
wastheverydaywegotthemachinery,sowehadtowork.
People who have higher or longerterm objectives, such as

developing personally, improving skills and abilities, pursuing
interests,gainingprofessionalqualifications,expressingthemselves
creatively or professionally or living in a more dignified
environment, primarily choose developed countries such as
Germany, Sweden, Denmark, France, England, Switzerland, Spain,
the Czech Republic, the USA and Canada. However, seasonal labor
migrants who seek to solve problems linked to survival mainly
preferRussia;thenumberssuggestthisaswell.Thenumberoflabor
migrantsingeneralconstitutes94%ofthetotalnumberofmigrants,
and96%oflabormigrantsgotoRussia (MigrationandDevelopment
2009,67).
1.4.RepresentationofIdentityandRelatedPractices
While discussing identity and everyday life, P. Berger
mentionsthatitispossibletoobservedifferenttypesofidentityin
everyday life (Berger & Luckmann 1991, 195). Our research also
26
confirms the accuracy of this thesis. Daily life is indeed saturated

withpracticesaimedatthepresentationofonesidentity,andone
can notice this tendency in migrants as well. Our qualitative
research data allow us to conclude that migrants use two primary
approachestoestablishtheiridentitiesinthehostsociety.
Inthefirstapproach,amigranttriestoestablishhisidentity
byemphasizinghismembershipinanethnicorreligiousgroup.
In the second approach, the migrant tries to establish his
identitybyexhibitinghispersonalityorabilities.
It was very difficult at first. They were very closed. To be
honest,youcantreallyblamethem,becauseourpeopleare
not the only ones there. The foreigners there do all sorts of
disgustingthings.ThatiswhytheAustriansaresickandtired
of us. I completely understand them (the Austrians) now. I
used to take offense at that timeI used to say that they
should get to know the individual and not generalize. And
they were quite closed to me in that way too, in the
beginning. When I would tell them that Im Armenian, their
attitude would change somehow. But we would become
friendsaftercommunicatingabit.Iamintouchwithsomeof
themevennow.
Woman,33yearsold,Yerevan/Austria(Graz)
Thesetwoprincipallydifferentapproachesdemonstratethe
varying approaches migrants pursue when representing their
identities. A common practice is to present oneself to the host
society as an Armenian and a Christian because being a Christian
leads (in some surroundings) to a more positive attitude. When
presenting themselves, Armenian migrants sometimes seek to
differentiate themselves from other, especially Muslim, migrants.
Theyinterpretthisdifferenceasbeingimportantbecauseitchanges
theattitudedirectedtowardsthem,makingthatattituderelatively
morefavorable.Accordingtothesemigrants,theattitudeinRussia
27
and some European countries towards migrants from Muslim

countriesisnotveryfriendly;thisunfriendlinesscansometimesalso
be directed at Armenians because of physical resemblances
betweenthetwogroups.
I have had a bit of a psychological problem because of the
wayIlook.IhaveEasternfeatures,sotheydonttakemefor
anArmenianinEurope.Iwouldfeelpeoplelookatmewitha
kindoftrepidationatthebusstop,probablyconfusingmefor
anArabmigrant.WhenIcamecloseronce,Isawthewoman
sitting at the bus stop grab her bag hurriedly. None of them
wouldimaginethatI knowGermanliteraturebetterthan70
percent of Germans. Nobody can see that in my eyes. But I
have no right to take offense in this case. I was being
subjected to that discrimination against my will. When they
find out that youre Armenian, their attitude changes
somewhat. The first thing about being Armenian is
Christianity,andEuropeansarefavorablyinclinedinthatcase.
Religionplaysanimportantrole.WhenIwouldtellthemthatI
am Armenian, I would immediately feel something change. I
cansaybasedonmyexperiencethatthatreallyisimportant
for a European. If you are a Christian, they are friendlier
towardsyou.
Male,30yearsold,Yerevan/Germany(Jena)
Migrants who wish to present themselves in terms of their

ethnicity first seek out other Armenians and integrate into their
surroundings;then,theypresentthemselvestoothercirclesintheir
hostsocietythroughthisgroupaswell.Theindividualswhochoose
thispathpreferthepracticeofpresentingthemselvesasamember
of a group to present their identity. This approach is reflected in
theirpresentationthroughexternalsigns,suchasarticlesofclothing
or style, leisure activities, participating in festivals, behavior in
public places and ways of interacting with the host society. The
representatives of this approach are more likely to isolate
28
themselves from the host society, appear less in public places and
avoid active communication with the locals. They tend more to
isolatethemselveswithintheirgroup.
Itisinterestingthatmigrantsaresubjectedtocriticismwhen
theyintegratethemselvesintoethnicgroupsurroundingsduringthe
early period of their migration and subsequently separate
themselvesfromthegrouptopursuetheirindividualinterests.One
ofthemigrantintervieweesmadeaverypointedobservationwhen
he said that practices of individual identity presentation were not
encouraged within the Armenian community and that preference
wasgiventoethnicity.
Individual interaction was not possible, and a sense of
solidarity was being developed along ethnic lines, more than
along individual ones. When it came to my individual
interests,Iwasinteractingmorewiththeforeignersthanwith
Armenians.
Male,28yearsold,Yerevan/USA(Michigan)
The research results show that among seasonal labor

migrants, there are no individual practices towards presenting and
usingonesidentity.Therearevariousreasonsforthisgap.First,the
objectiveofseasonalmigrationistoearnmoneyquicklyinafew
monthsto cover the needs of the family left behind in Armenia;
there is no desire to establish oneself in the host society, to find
permanentworkortoadvance.Forthatreason,forsomemigrants,
it is preferable not to present their identity in public spaces.
Additionally, for this group of migrants, the tendency to isolate
oneself from the host society is predominant because it minimizes
the possibility of conflicts or other complications. The other
important reason is that seasonal workers, considering themselves
tobetemporaryresidents,arenotparticularlymotivatedtoarrange
forstatusinthehostsociety.Theyarecontentwiththestatusthat
29
they have been assigned by their employers and the host society.
For this reason, they are not particularly active in establishing or
presentingtheiridentity.
This situation is in complete contrast to the situation seen
withmigrantswhohavegonetoliveabroadwhileseekinglongterm
workorstudy.Inthesecases,onecanseebothgroupandindividual
approachestoestablishingandpresentingidentity.Thereasonthat
amigrantchoosestopresenthimselfonewayoranotherisclosely
linked to the personality of that migrant and the individuals
habitus.Forpeoplewholivewithagroupbasedvaluesystem,itis
more common to see them present characteristics that serve to
distinguish them from the host society, particularly pronounced
ethnic characteristics. Two isolationist tactics can be observed
within this group of migrants. The first tactic is particularly
characteristic of seasonal labor migrants: the individual isolates
himselffromallsegmentsofthehostsociety,closeshimselfoffand
interactsonlywithhisrelativesandcompatriotsfromArmeniafrom
amongtheotherseasonalmigrants.Thesecondtypeofisolationist
tacticismoreoftenobservedinlongtermmigrantsorstudents.In
their case, they limit themselves to interactions with the other
representativesoftheArmeniancommunity.IfthereisnoArmenian
community in the given place, they often seek out representatives
fromotherformerSovietcountries.
Peoplewhopreferanindividualbasedvaluesysteminteract
with the Armenian community more rarely. When they present
their identity, the ethnic or national component does not take
precedence over the individual. Ethnic identity is important as a
component of their individual identity, but it is not the primary
means through which identity is presented. Their identity
presentation practices are linked to the display and use of their
individualabilitiesandcharacteristics.Thehostsocietyinthiscaseis
30
asuitableenvironmentbecauseitisfreeofconstrainingethnicand
culturalstereotypes,whichalwaystrytokeeptheindividualwithin
certain limits of group practices and styles of everyday life. In this
sense, people who are individualcentered prefer to present
themselves through new practices and experiences. It is notable
that,aftertheirreturntoArmenia,thepeoplewithpredominantly
individual approaches specifically note the pressure they felt from
thegrouporientedmajority.
AssoonasIarrived,rightattheairport,theysaid,Lookathis
hair!Thatwastheirwayofsaying,Welcome.
Here, even the fact that people dress alike is a way of
suppressing our individual selves. Everyone looks the same
neutral.
1.5.PracticesofStatusArrangementandRealization
Thearrangementofstatusisoneofthemajoreventsinthe
lives of migrants. This event does not just encompass legal status
butratherismoregeneralonesstatusinsocietallife.Thistypeof
status is a broader concept that includes the issue of legal status.
Statusinthiscontextspecificallymeanstheplaceinlifechosenbya
person.Thisplaceisthepositionfromwhichhelooksuponlifeand
gives it meaning, sets objectives for himself, forms practices to
obtain these objectives and represents the practices that include
the meanings that are significant to him in the places where he
prefers to do so. The introduction of these practices is primarily
directedatthefulfillmentofhisobjectivesandatthereproduction
of his status. The fact that a person chooses the practice of
migration is also linked to his status and the issue of reproducing
thatstatus.IfamanlivesinaconservativeandpatriarchalArmenian
31
community, then the concept of providing ones family with a

dignifiedlifeandtherolegiventothebreadwinnerandfatherhave
great significance. If he does not fulfill this role well, then he risks
losing the respect of those around him. Respect is important
because people use it to show that the given persons status is
acceptable to them. For this reason, obtaining the respect of the
community is a significant factor in the arrangement of a persons
status. Status is important for a migrant; it allows him to maintain
hispositioninsociety,whichinturnallowshimtoconductpractices
that are vital to him. For this reason, the men who migrate from
ruralcommunitiesorsmallertownsintheregions,whereeveryone
knowseachother,upontheirreturnconsideritimportantnotjust
to improve their familys material wellbeing but also to display it
(i.e.,theirwellbeing)publiclyinpersonallyimportantsocialspaces
through recognizable indicators. For example, a migrant could
display a car, new furniture for the house, clothes for the family,
golditemsorothermaterialgoods.
Therefore, an important issue for a migrant with regard to
migration is maintaining and improving his status, which becomes
possible due to the various financial, social and cultural capital
accruedduringthecourseofmigration.Byputtingthatcapitalinto
circulation in Armenia after his return, he can maintain and
reproduce his status. For this reason, an important research
questionrelatedtostatusdoesnotmerelyrelatetotheperiodafter
thereturnfrommigration;italsocoversthestudyofthepractices
aimed at arranging and realizing that status over the course of
migration. We consider this issue to be important because, during
migration, the migrant may be forced to confront or, on the
contrary, avoid some aspect of thehost society. As a result of this
effort, he learns some new practices, which also influence his
migrantbehaviorafterhisreturntoArmenia.
32
The practices aiming at status arrangement and realization

conducted at the migration destination are not the same for all
migrants. These practices differ based on the migration objective,
the host country, the migrants habitus and a number of other
factors.
With regard to the practices aiming at status arrangement
and realization, seasonal labor migrants form a separate group.
Mostofthemareextremelypassiveparticipantsinthearrangement
of their status. Many of them tend to accept the status offered to
them by the employer. The migrants explain this attitude towards
status in terms of the objectives that they have set themselves.
Theirprimarytaskistoearnsufficientmoneythroughsomemeans
and then return to Armenia. Thus, the primary objective is the
production of financial capital. No other objectives related to
cultural or social capital were registered during the study. These
migrantsalsolacklongtermobjectivesrelatedtothehostsociety,
with a corresponding lack of interest in arranging a special status
within that society. They are completely satisfied with the status
grantedtothem,whichallowsthemtomaketheamountofmoney
thattheyneedwithoutwastinganyadditionaltimeormoneyonthe
arrangementoftheirstatus.
Theemployermadeallthearrangements.Theyregisteredme
at the address of one of their acquaintances. I worked as
usual, but without a work permit. Because the place where I
worked had no problem with the state organizations, it was
notinspected.Thetemporaryregistrationwassimplytoallow
metogointotownonceinawhile.
Male,46yearsold,Gyumri/Russia(Sochi)
Inthisexample,themigrantisexplaininghisstatusarrange
ment through someone elses needhis employersnot his own.
In this case, it is clearly observed that as a seasonal migrant, his
33
status at the migration destination does not matter to him. It is

arrangedbysomeoneelse,andheprimarilyusesthepracticesthat
arisefromthestatusgiventohimbyhisemployer.Anyotherstatus
that does not match his objectives and might require a change of
practicesisconsideredtobeunnecessary.Mostofthemigrantswho
participatedinthestudydidnotevenconsiderthisoption.Mostof
themhadnevereventakentheminimalstepstolegalizetheirstay
and work there because they did not consider such action to be
necessary. Some of them had adapted to the status and practices
that the employer considered to be suitable for them. For this
reason,thesemigrantslivedinisolationfromthehostsociety.
My brother and I would go to work and come back. I didnt
talktotheRussiansmuch.Itwaswork,thenhomeandtalking
to our Armenian boys. There wasnt much time to walk
around either. Then, there were also the difficulties we had
duetolackofpapers.
Male,32yearsold,Yerevan/Russia(Novorossiysk)
Itisinterestingthatthelabormigrantswhoarenotlimited
by the objective to just meet the survival requirements of their
familiesandwhohavelongertermplanssuchasgainingpermanent
residence in the host society or finding a stable and longterm
sourceofincomearemoreconcernedaboutandcommittedtothe
task of arranging their status in the host society. First, they
personally act to tackle the legal issues concerning their status.
Second, they seek to gain some of the important components of
social capital, such as trust, the respect of the surrounding
community,andareputationforexemplarinessandobedience.
Well,ifyouwanttoliveandworkthere,youhavetoobeythe
law.Migrantshavetobelegal;theyhavetohavetheirpapers
inorder.WhenIwent,thefirstthingIdidwastoworkonthis
issue. I went with my husband. If you dont secure the legal
side, you have no right to stay in that country. And it makes
34
nosensetostayeither,becauseyoucantdoanythingserious;
youcantfeelfreethere.
Female,50yearsold,Yerevan/Russia(Moscow)
Naturally, in Russia, the complications related to status are

notjustlinkedtotheattitudethatthemigrantshavetowardsitbut
also those linked to Russias bureaucracy and corruption, which
migrantsarenotalwaysabletoovercome.
Wedecidedtotakecareoftheregistrationourselves.Alocal
agentturnedup,andhepromisedtotakecareofeverything.
Wegavehimthemoneysixthousandrubleseach.Wewere
forced to do that because we kept having problems. The
police would block the way and ask for papers, and we had
difficulty getting to town. In a word, there were a lot of
difficulties, so we decided to risk it and arrange for registra
tionourselves.Then,wediscoveredthattheregistrationdocu
mentshadbeenforged.
Therefore, the status of seasonal labor migrants is pre

determinednotjustbytheemployersbutalso,inabroadersense,
by society. There are a number of expressions used to emphasize
the status of these migrants, which are widespread labels.
Accordingtoourresearchdata,theexpressionsmostcommonlyin
useareblacks,blackasses,Caucasians,Khachiksandsoon.
These labels comprise a serious factor that affects practices aimed
at status arrangement. Briefly stated, for the vast majority of
seasonalmigrants,thepracticesaimedatstatusarrangementliein
accepting, without much resistance, the status established by
others. As a rule, the seasonal labor migrants who participated in
the study did not attempt to occupy a higher place in the status
hierarchy of the host society and did not even take minimal steps
towards this aim. They settled for the marginal status given to
seasonalmigrantsandthepracticesthataccompanythisstatus.
35
Those who accept the status arranged for them by others

andwhoadaptthisstatustotheirneedsparticipateminimallyinthe
arrangement and content of their status or its redefinition. In this
sense,theirparticipationinthepublicpracticesofthehostsocietyis
particularlypassive.Forthisreason,thestatusofseasonalmigrants
in Russia has been reproduced without alterations for the past
number of years. However, those who participate in the
arrangementandformationoftheirstatusarealsomoreactiveand
involved in the public practices of the host society. They are also
activeintermsofadoptingpersonalpractices.Letusnote,however,
thatalthoughthepersonalfactorisimportant,equallyimportantis
theroleofthefieldasdefinedbyBourdieu(Bourdieu1984,226
230;Bourdieu1993a,3843;Bourdieu1993,7277).Itisimportant
tonotethatthefieldistheareainwhichthemigrantisestablishing
his position and arranging and using his status. In one case, that
fieldmaybetheconstructionsite;inanother,itistheuniversity.In
one case, it is the Russian surroundings, where localmigrant
practicesaredictatedbylocals,whoareconsiderablyinfluencedby
nationalistic texts and practices. In another case, the field is a
Western city, in which a foreigner is not defined as an enemy but
rather as someone who is different but equal. In Russia, migrants
are seen as consumers of capital that could have potentially been
availableforalocalRussianintheprocessofwealthredistribution;
thus, migrants become the Russians enemy on social grounds and
one of the reasons for his misfortune. Meanwhile, a student
studying at a Western university is seen as an important person
payingtuitionandfeeswhoismakingafinancialinvestmentinthe
country; therefore, he should be respected by members of the
society. The field influences the status of a migrant. However, it is
very important to consider the practices used by the migrant to
arrangehisstatusandpresentittothehostsociety.Thosemigrants
36
who accept the status arranged for them by the host society are
usually defined as having evasive behavior and an unkempt
appearance. However, those who attempt to arrange their status
themselvesareseenashavingbehaviormoreconsistentwiththeir
surroundings.Theytrynottoavoidgoingtopublicplacesandtake
bettercareoftheirappearancetogainrespectfromthosearound
them.
TheydontdistinguishwhetheryouareIdontknow,aTurk,
Georgianeveryonesblacktothem.Therestisuptoyou.If
you stay within your limits and behave well, then theres no
problem. You have to be clean and shaven. If they see that
youarecleanafterwork,theywilltreatyouwell.
The qualitative research data allow us to assume that the

tacticsusedbythemigranttoarrangeandusehisstatusinthehost
country are linked to his tactics to address the same issue in
Armenia. For returned migrants, despite all their differences, the
reproductionoftheirstatusinArmeniaisimportant.Dependingon
what they consider to be important, what they value and their
objectives in life in general, theirmigration objectives differ, as do
the practices and statuses that serve the purpose of those
objectives.
Itisnocoincidencethatthepeoplewhoseprimaryobjective
was to improve their familys ways of life consider it important to
specifically maintain the status that they had in Armenia. Thus,
migration has become a special means through which this group
maintainsandreproducestheirstatusintheirhomesinArmenia.
Whatisimportantisforamantobeabletosupporthisfamily
well,sothathisfamilydoesnotneedanything.Butthatisnot
possible to do in the conditions in Armenia today. My main
aim is life is to provide for my family, for my parents, near
ones and friends to be well. I want everyone that I love and
37
respect to be well. But it is not possible to do all that in the

conditions we have in Gyumri today. But it is possible in
Russia. We can work. If that possibility does not exist here,
thenIwillgotoRussiaandwork,thencomeback.
This approach is one of the main reasons why seasonal

migrants are not concerned with their status in the host country.
Consideringtheirhostcountrystatustobeatemporaryissue,they
are willing to ignore any problems related to status during the
period of their seasonal migration and to sacrifice their status for
the sake of their familys wellbeing and the preservation of their
status in the motherland. Therefore, seasonal migrants do not
observe any particular practices aimed at the arrangement and
realization of status. They simply adapt quickly to their temporary
status and the already standardized temporary seasonal migrant
practicesforthefewmonthsoftheirseasonalmigrationanddonot
waste time and energy. When they return home, they leave that
temporary status at the migration destination, bringing only some
insignificantpracticeswiththem.
For other migrants, although family is of great value and
making money is an important issue, their main objective is self
development and selfrealization, and they differ radically from
seasonal labor migrants in their attempts and practices towards
status arrangement. For these migrants, the main concern is to
becomefamiliarwiththehostsocietyasquicklyaspossibleandto
become recognizable there as an individual. Therefore, the
migrants individual characteristics and skills become a status
indicator. For this reason, his practices are aimed at self
developmentandhowhepresentshimselftothosearoundhim.
Iwouldthinkthatthatwastheircountryandtheydontowe
me anything. I have come to make an effort to achieve
38
successintheircountry,notasanArmenianoranything,but
simply as a person, an interesting person. Sometime later, I
achieved my objective, and from that moment, I have
friendsFrench friends, for examplewho remain my good
friendstothisday.
Youknow,therehavebeendifferentstagesinthese10years.
Thestageofalostandconfusedstudent.Then,therewasthe
intern stage. Then, there was the stage of specialization. I
have had a very good job. After graduating, I worked as a
businessconsultantforaverygoodAmericanconsultingfirm.
I lived in the center of Paris; I had a big apartment100
square meters. It wasnt because I needed it; it was simply
moreinterestingthatway.Iwouldthrowbigparties.Ihada
lovelybalcony,whichlookedoutoverNotreDame.
This group of migrants, in contrast to seasonal migrants,

have a much more diverse and strategic approach to the issue of
capital accrual. Seasonal migrants can be classified as people who
liveinasurvivalmodewithnostrategyforselfdevelopment,which
iswhytheyadoptthepracticessetbysomeoneelseforthem.These
typesofpracticesarecalledtacticsbyM.deCerteau.Accordingto
him, there are people who do not have their own strategies and
whose tactics serve the strategies of others (Certeau 1984, 35).
Fromthisperspective,seasonalmigrantsapplytacticsthatservethe
strategies of others, which is why they rarely have any personal
growth.Selfdevelopmentisnotanobjectivethattheyhavesetfor
themselves. Migrants with a strategy see migration as a change of
location that enables their strategy and apply tactics aimed at
accruing not just economic capital but also cultural and social
capital. For this reason, they strive to arrange a status in the host
society that provides them with a dynamic growth trend in their
reproductionofculturalandsocialcapital(andthedevelopmentof
culturalcapitaliscoretothereproductionofsocialcapital).Inthis
39
situation, we use the definition of cultural capital as provided by

Pierre Bourdieu, who stated that cultural capital is a resource
including human skills and abilities that can be invested in various
sectors of public life (Bourdieu 1986, 47). It is known that the
circulationofcapitalleadstoaddedvalue.Culturalcapitalisnotan
exception to this rule. To put cultural capital into circulation and
receive added value, one must arrange the necessary status. The
added value received from cultural capital can be converted into
economiccapitalorsocialcapitalorcanservetoraiseonesstatus.
That is why the migrants who place importance on self
development and the growth of their skills and abilitiesthat is,
thosewhohavesetthereproductionofculturalcapitalasoneofthe
objectivesoftheirmigrationaremoreconcernedwiththeissueof
arranging their status in the host society, and their practices
attributegreatimportancetothisgoal.
Afteryoucrossacertainpoint,youarealreadyintegratedinto
thecountry.Afterthat,youbecomeacitizenofthatcountry.
You may not have a passport yet, but you are a citizen in
principle and with the potential that you hold. And, if you
haveputinenoughefforttogettosomethinginthatcountry,
you will surely get there. And, when you change your status
andwork,youhavenorealproblems,andtherestdependson
yourabilities,yourintellect,diplomasandotherskills.
By striving to gain a position in the host society as an

individual, the migrant fosters individual traits and characteristics
within himself that become an inseparable part of him and then
returnwithhimtoArmenia.Thesetraitschangethebehaviorofthe
returnee and his perception of status and its public indicators,
movingfromagroupfocustocenteringontheindividual.
Before this, a few years ago, I would say, Let me build a

house, have a child and plant a tree. But I dont think like
40
thatanymore;itisnolongerlikethat.NowIwouldliketolive
insurroundingsthatareofinteresttomeandwhereIamof
interest.AndIdontcarewhetherthatiswithmyrelativesor
otherpeople.
Forsomeoftherepresentativesofthismigrantgroup,public
practices also play an important role in the individual steps they
taketowardsthearrangementoftheirstatus.Thesepublicpractices
areimportantbecausetheyallowthemigranttopresenthimselfin
the host society as open, trustworthy, exemplary, and responsible
and as possessing other features considered significant by the
public. It is these types of migrants who change at an individual
level.UponreturningtoArmenia,theyfindthattheycannotchange
back;drivenbytheirindividualneedtoselfrealizeinpublicspaces,
they strive to form a new status that will be favorable to their
individual selfrealization. Moreover, for that same reason, these
individualsoftenperformnewpracticesinArmeniathatalsoinclude
publicandciviccomponentsaimedattransformingtheirstatus.
I already had a good education and contacts, so I did not
really need anything from outside. I considered it correct to
return to Armenia and work here. My dignity as a citizen
improved. I see myself more as an activist. I contact various
internationalactivistgroups,weexchangepractices,andItry
todisseminateallthat.Ihavemanyobjectives.Regardingthe
country specifically, I want to create a large civic movement
whichwouldgathertheyoungergeneration,whichhasaclear
vision about the future of Armenia, and we would develop a
unitedplanandclearstepstoimplementourideas.
Female,30yearsold,Yerevan/England(London)
According to the characteristics of the practices aimed at

status arrangement and realization, we were able to differentiate
between two groups of migrants who participated in our study. In
the first group, the primary role for arranging status belongs to
41
someoneelse.Thatroleismainlyconducted,inanarrowsense,by
the employer and, in a broader sense, by the host society. With
respect to practices, this group is extremely passive and, in their
activities aimed at reproducing their status, the dominating
practices are those of isolation. Usually, this type of behavior in
arranging and realizingstatus is characteristicof migrantswho see
theirmigrationasatemporarytacticalstepaimedatgatheringthe
financialmeansforthewellbeingoftheirfamily.Aftertheirreturn,
the practices aimed at the arrangement and reproduction of their
status are connected to the exhibition of objects of material value
thatsignifyingtheaforementionedwellbeing.
In the second group, the role for arranging and realizing
statusbelongstotheindividual.Intermsofthereproductionofhis
status,animportantfactoristhepracticeofactivecontactwiththe
hostsociety.Fortheseindividuals,strategicintentionstowardsthe
growth of status are common: it is important to accrue and
reproduce not only financial capital but also social and cultural
capital. In these cases, the primary strategic issue is the self
development of the individual and, therefore, the development of
prerequisite abilities and skills. After returning to Armenia, it is
importanttotheseindividualstoarrangetheirstatusandreproduce
itthroughselfrealization.Thistaskisusuallyperformedthroughthe
spreadofnotonlyobjectsofmaterialvaluebutalsoabstractvalues,
such as knowledge, tolerance, obedience, rights and citizenship.
Thus,theirbehaviorillustratestheapplicationofpractices,including
civic practices, to create new platforms for the realization of the
valuesthatrepresenttheirindividuality.
42
CHAPTER2
THEEVERYDAYLIFEANDPRACTICESOFMIGRANTS
INTHEHOSTCOUNTRY
The everyday life of migrants can be studied by examining

theirpractices.Forresearchpurposes,practiceshavebeengrouped
into the following types: a) spatial practices, b) time management
andleisurepractices,c)foodpractices,d)clothingpractices,ande)
practices of interaction with the host society as well as public and
civicpractices.
2.1.SpatialPractices
One can distinguish between various types of spatial
practicesamongmigrants.First,thesepracticesaddresstheissueof
accommodationduringthecourseoftheirmigration.Second,they
address the migrants transportation in the host society, including
thelimitstotheirmobilityandthefreedomstheyareallowed.
Itshouldbeimmediatelynotedthatseasonallabormigrants
who travel to Russia are different in their spatial practices from
other groups of migrants, including those who travel to Russia for
longtermmigration.Seasonalmigrantseitherresidedirectlyatthe
worksiteinworkersquartersallocatedtothemorinthehomesof
friendsandrelatives.Itisveryrareforthemtorentapartmentsor
tomakeeffortstoimprovetheirplaceofaccommodation.
IwentthereIhadalotofacquaintancesthere.Imadesome
callsandfoundajob;wewentoverandtalked,thenstayedat
theworksite.Thedachawasbuilt,andtherewasacottagein
theyard;welivedinthatcottageatfirst.Then,weplastered
one room, did the heating and moved in there while we
43
continued to work. The whole construction crew would stay

there.
Male,38yearsold,Gyumri/Russia(Moscow)
Manyofthesemigrantsplaynoroleintheselectionoftheir
accommodation. The employer or some other agent takes care of
thatissueforthem.
It was the guy who made arrangements for the work. We
sleptinhisofficethisyear.Ithadallthefacilitiesweneeded
wecouldtakebaths,andthebedswerefine.Itwasasixbed
room where I slept with the other migrants who went from
here. They were all my brothers or cousins; we had gone
togethertowork.
Male,28yearsold,Marmashen/Russia(Yakutsk)
ItisanumberofyearsnowthatIhavebeengoingtoMoscow;
I work in a furniture factory. The crew and I sleep right in a
few rooms located within the offices of the factory. The
conditionsarenotthebest,butthereiseverythingnecessary
asfarasheating,foodandcleanlinessisconcerned.
Male,46yearsold,Yerevan/Russia(Moscow)
For a largenumber of seasonal labor migrants, the topic of

living arrangements is a group issue rather than an individual one.
Many of them do not even consider having a personal space for
themselves. The space is not important to them because their
objective is not to obtain personal comfort but rather to earn
moneyforthefamily.Theyconsidertheissueofaccommodationto
beverytemporaryinnature.
Thelivingconditionsarelikeinahostelthreebyfourrooms,
eight people. Four bunk bedsthose are the conditions. The
sanitaryconditionswerecomparablybearabletherewashot
waterandabathroom.Itwasbearable.
44
For some of these migrants, the accommodation has no

functionotherthanbeingaplacetosleep.Allthattheyrequireisan
acceptableplacetosleepandtheminimalconditionsofhygiene.
Bycontrast,longtermmigrantsaddresstheirlivingarrange
mentswithacompletelydifferentattitude.Theyusuallyliveinren
ted apartments. For these migrants, their accommodation is more
thanjustaplacetosleep.Intheirrentedapartments,theirlives,in
thesenseoftheircompleteeverydayactivities,donotdiffermuch
fromthelivesofthelocals.Itisthereforenotparticularlyimportant
which country the migrant chooses, whether it be Russia or a
Western country. These migrants differ in their objectives and
strategies.Theirintentionsareoftentostaycontinuouslyandwork
in the host country. Some have even set the personal objective of
establishing permanent residence in the host country. These
migrantschosetheirplaceoflivingthemselves,bothinthesenseof
thedistrictwheretheyliveandtheapartmentthattheyoccupy.
Well,Istayedatmygirlfriendshousefirst.Helpingsomeone
outforaweekisreallysomethingwhenyoureabroad.They
didnotwantustoleave,butwefoundanapartmentandpaid
for it. The conditions were excellentit was renovated and
hadeverythingweneeded.
Female,50yearsold,Yerevan/Russia(Moscow)
The practices related to accommodation are different with

regard to student migrants. They also mostly live in rented apart
mentsorinroomsprovidedbytheuniversity.Mostofthemstayon
theirownorwithstudentfriends.Itshouldbenotedthatevenliving
with a few people in one room is considered to be an important
step by these people, many of whom have no experience living
alone before because they have never lived away from their
parents.
45
I lived alone in my room, but there were sixteen people on

thatfloor.Eachpersonhadtheirownroom,butwewouldall
sharethekitchen.
I lived alone, which was an important experience in every
sense. When you live alone, especially if youre in a strange
city, and you tackle some issues on your own; it is very
different from Armenia. It was a very small room. It had a
chair,adesk,abedandawardrobe.Thebathroomandtoilet
wereseparate.Therewasacouch,whichonecouldalsosleep
on. There was a large mirror and some shelves on the wall,
whichyoucouldusetokeepbooks.
Female,24yearsold,Yerevan/USA(Minnesota)
During the course of migration, the other important spatial

practiceislinkedtofreemobilityinthehostcountry.Inthiscaseas
well, the seasonal migrants are very different from others. Most
seasonal workers, by their own admission, rarely left their work
sites. First, they did not leave because they did not feel a need to
leave.However,theyalsohadverylimitedtimeofffromwork;their
mainconcernwastoworkandthentorestandregaintheirstrength
duringtheirtimeoff.
Wewouldcomebackafterwork,tired.Itwaslikebeingunder
house arrestwe would sit and relax at home, watch
television. We would go out into town on a few occasions.
What was there to do in town anyway? There was a shop
closeby;wedbuycigarettesandstufffromthere.
One of the main obstacles to the free mobility of seasonal

labor migrants in Russia is the unfavorable attitude of the host
society towards migrants and the different types of dangers that
mightariseagainstthemigrantswill.InRussia,thestatusofbeinga
migrantisinitselfareasontolimitonesmobility.Asiscommonfor
peopleofmarginalorlowstatus,migrantsareoftenafraidtomove
46
around because they lack knowledge of the hierarchy of statuses,

whichgivesrisetoafeelingofinferiorityandfeartowardsthehost
society.
Its good here; you can walk around freely. But there, your
passport always has to be in your pocket. If you delay your
registrationbyacoupleofdays,youstarttogetscaredofthe
cops,toavoidbeingcaughtandfined.Thereisalotofdanger
there; there are a lot of drunkards around. Especially the
Russians. And they dont like darkskinned people, so they
comeandtrytopickafight.Andifthereisafight,thenyou
get into all sorts of trouble. The cops come and take you
away.Youhavetobewaryofthem.Butthereisnothinglike
thathere.Wecandrinkbeerintheyardofourbuildingsinthe
middle of summer or do other things. But there, its a bit
dangerous.
Male,32yearsold,Yerevan/Russia(Istra)
Many of the people who have gone to Russia for seasonal

labor migration noted that the limitations they felt in the host
society were a result of the specific formal and informal
characteristics of the status they were given. In the host society,
when a migrant is given a low or marginal status, he is unable to
fully communicate with that society and to understand the other
statusesthatexistthereandthehierarchyamongthem.Ifhewere
able to fully communicate, he would be able to arrange his
behavioralpracticesbasedontheprincipleofrespondingtonotable
statuses, which would then increase his chances of moving within
thathierarchy.Theabilitytomovewithinthehierarchyofstatuses
directly influences the possibility of and practices for the migrants
mobilityinthehostsociety.Thepracticesforphysicalmobilityina
space are interrelated with the involvement of the migrant in the
social spaceproduction processes of the given society; the change
in his own status is an added value of having been included. The
47
possibilityofchanginghisstatusarisesbecausetheabilitytomove
spatially increases the opportunities for him to integrate. The
intensity of the spatial mobility increases the range of signs in the
host society that are recognizable to the migrant. Mastery of the
indicators of various clothing, style, leisure, behavioral and other
practices can increase the migrants ability to adapt himself more
flexiblyacrossthisrangeofsigns.
Interestingly, in contrast to seasonal labor migrants, long
term migrants and student migrants are much more free and
flexiblewithregardtomobility.
Ilikedthecityalot.Ihavebeentosomeothercitiesaswell,
but Portland was different. It was even very pleasant to use
publictransportation:peoplewouldsayallkindsofinteresting
things;theambienceingeneralwasquitehappy.Astheygot
offattheirstops,theywouldthankthedriverforthepleasant
moodthathehadcreated.Iwouldgoaroundtownmainlyon
my own. I would go to photo classes and also look around
town. I would go to the Museum of Art. I would take a bus
and go to other districts. For example, there was a district
whichwascalledthedistrictofbridgesandroses.Everything
wasverypretty,inshort.Itwasgreat.Andpeoplewerevery
warmandreadytohelpwhenyouaskedaquestionorneeded
directions.
Female,21yearsold,Yerevan/USA(Portland)
Longtermmigrantsandstudentmigrantsdonotexperience
the obstacles to mobility characteristic of seasonal labor migrants;
therefore, they are able to live more integrated lives in the host
society.Thesedifferencesinspatialpracticeslinkedtothefreedom
of mobility allow those migrants to experience nearly all types of
practicesintheeverydaylifeofthehostsocietyandtoadoptsome
ofthem.
48
Iwouldgotorockconcertsandtotheoperaoften.Thoseare
indicatorsIusetoevaluateacountry.Rockisamindsettome,
and people who like rock have other similar interests and
attitudes,andIfeltgoodbeinginanenvironmentofthatkind.
Iwastryingtofindpeoplelikemyselfthere.Iwouldalsogoto
museums.IvetravelledthroughoutEuropealot.Also,besides
studying,asstudentswecouldalsowork:cleaninginaflower
shop or doing something else, for example. We would make
around12dollarsanhourforsuchwork.
Mobility practices varied greatly, particularly among those

who had migration experiences in the West. They were able to
travelandexperiencetheeverydaylifeofthehostsociety,notjust
in the city where they lived but also in other cities of their host
countryandeveninneighboringcountries.Somepeopleperformed
that experience through travel practices common to the given
society,rangingfromplanestotravelingbycarorbicycle.
I have been everywhereChicago, New York, Los Angeles. I
even went to Alaska. I have been to all the small towns and
large cities near my stateFlorida, Disneylandeverywhere.
And I did all that in the three weeks around the New Year,
when we were free. I had bought as many tickets as I could
andwenteverywhere.
Theyhavenotonlymovedfreelybutalsomasteredandused
the various travel practices to an extent equal to that of other
membersofthatsociety.
Students tickets were discounted. There were cheap flights
fromLondontoParis,startingfrom10pounds.IwenttoParis
and returned to London four times. I also took a 20 dollar
flightfromLondontoBarcelonaandback.
49
It is interesting that, in one case, the space between the

migrantandthehostsocietytakesontheformofaborder,which
has a very physical nature. In the other case, the border has no
spatial nature at all. It is simply a question of practices. For the
seasonallaborworkerswho,asmentionedabove,liveattheirwork
sitesorinplacesisolatedfromsociety,thephysicalborderbetween
them and society starts at the boundaries of their quarters or the
construction site. Everything that is within those boundaries is on
one side of the border; everything else is on the other side. The
seasonal labor worker feels safer inside than outside, where there
arenumerousdangers.Thesamecanbesaidaboutmigrantsliving
inrefugeecamps.
To summarize the spatial practices of seasonal labor
migrants,longtermmigrantsandstudentmigrants,somemigrants
seektoisolateandlimitthemselvestodefinetheirterritoryinthe
host society. For others, the opposite occurs: they seek to
communicateasmuchaspossibleandtousetheirmobilitytomake
more places accessible to them. For these migrants, visiting each
newplaceincreasesthedynamicsofestablishingtheirplaceinthe
host society. These expanding dynamics, in turn, impact and
developtheformationoradoptionofnewpracticesbythemigrant
in the host society. Those migrants who move less and choose a
place of living that does not allow them to have multiple
experiencesinteractingwiththeirsocialsurroundingsremainmore
isolated from novelties and changes. At the most, these migrants
manage only to accumulate some financial capital, which they use
to address the issues facing their families. They do not succeed in
seeing any dynamic growth or development in their social or
cultural capital, a trend that is seen more often with longterm or
studentmigrants.
50
2.2.TimeManagementandLeisurePractices
Timemanagementpracticesarealsoofbasicimportanceto
thepracticesofeverydaylife.Wewouldliketodistinguishbetween
timemanagement and timeallocation practices according to
timetables,timerhythmsandblocksoftime.
The time practices used by seasonal labor migrants are
different from those of longterm migrants and student migrants,
primarilybecauseoftheirtimemanagementpractices.Itiscommon
among seasonal labor migrants to allow their employer to freely
managetheirtime.Theworkrhythmestablishedbytheemployer,
inessence,doesnotmerelylayouttheworkingdayoftheseasonal
migrantbutalsoimpactshisnonworkinghours,leavinghimwithno
time to allocate to personal or public practices. For many of the
migrants of this group who participated in our study, time was
managedbysomeoneelse,andtherhythmsoftimewereprimarily
directedatworkpractices.Often,theworkingdayofthesemigrants
wouldlastfortwelvehoursormore.Theworkingdaywasarranged
in such a way that, for many migrants, there were barely enough
remaining free hours in the day for dinner, some slight relaxation
andsleep.
Another common practice was to take only every alternate
Sunday off. That is, throughout the entire migration season,
migrants with this timetable would only take one day off every
fortnight.
We would work every day from eight in morning to eight or
nine in the evening. We had a lunch break. The host side
wouldarrangethemeal.Therewasalargecafeteriaandthey
would make food for us. We would go and eat there during
ourlunchbreakandthenreturn.Iwouldgoandwork,come
back and eat, then sleep and start the new day by going to
work again. We would take a Sunday off every other week.
51
OneSundaywouldbeours,theotherwouldbelongtothem
theemployers.
Holidays were also rare. Only one or two holidays in the

entireseasonwouldbemarkedasdaysoff.Ifwetrytopresentthe
seasonal migrants time allocation as blocks of time (Zarubavel
1993,9), thenwecandistinguishtwolargeblocksinayear:oneis
themigrationperiod,andtheotheristhetimespentwiththefamily
after returning. Two smaller blocks can be distinguished in the
migrationperiodworkandrest.Theworkblockincludesalmostall
ofthedaysoftheweek.ThedaysofrestareprimarilyeverySunday
oreveryalternateSunday.Onaverage,12hoursarespentatwork
daily,approximatelyonehourisdevotedtodinner,andonetotwo
hoursaredevotedtosomerelaxationafterdinner;theremainderis
allocatedtosleep.
We wouldnt do anything after work. We would come back
late,andtherewouldbenodesireorenergyforanything.We
would have dinner, read some newspapers, watch television
andsleep.
Male,40yearsold,Gyumri/Russia(Michurinsk)
Workinghoursinthecafeteriaatseven,thenthebuswould
comeandtakeeveryonetotheirsites.Theywouldbringlunch
during the break, and we would eat and rest a little. Then,
backtowork,untilsevenoclock.Wehaveworkedlongerona
couple of occasionsfor half an hour or one hour. That was
when we were doing the asphalt. But I didnt decide what it
wasIwassupposedtodo.Themasterandtheforemanwould
decidethat.
Male,25yearsold,Marmashen/Russia(Arkhangelsk)
It is noteworthy that the employers, and not the seasonal

labor migrants, dictated their work rhythm. The timetable was the
same for all migrants working at the given worksite. As a work
52
timetable, it was applicable only to the migrants and categorically

differed from the timetable practices of the host society. This
difference is one of the reasons why seasonal migrants are
particularly alienated from the host society and its characteristic
practicesofeverydaylife.
Longtermmigrants,incontrast,donotliveinisolationwith
features characteristic only of a migrant environment but rather
with the timetable of their section of the host society, and they
becomemastersofthelocallyacceptedtimepractices.
On a regular day in Germany, I would plan everything
beforehand, despite myself. Because if you dont plan, you
end up on the outside. You slide off the rails of life because
you then cannot live with people who have planned out
everything.Iwouldgototheuniversityearlyinthemorning;
classes began at 7.30. The working day would end at two. I
wouldthengotothelibraryforaroundthreehours.Theday
wouldplanitselfout,whetherIwantedittoornot;everything
would fall into place. Saturdays and Sundays were off,
naturally,soyouwerefreetodowhatyouliked.EveryFriday,
I would take a train and go to European cities like Paris,
Veniceor,say,Prague.
Itisnocoincidencethatsomeofthesemigrantscontinuedto
exhibit these time practices after returning to Armenia, until they
adjustedtothelocalapproachtotime.
Everything continued the same way when I returned to
Armenia.Thatsamepunctualitywhenitcametowork.Itried
toworkusingdeadlines.Butafewmonthswentbyandwhen
you see that your coworkers are coming to work late, that
resourcesarenotbeingfullyutilizedforthejobathand,then
itinfectsyouagainlikeavirus.AllthatworkIhaddonethe
selfimprovementallwenttowaste.
53
In his book Hidden Rhythms, E. Zerubavel writes that

timetables have social significance and are factors leading to the
commonalityofpracticesinsocietyi.e.,theirsynchronizationand
socialharmony(Zarubavel1985,64).Ifweexaminethequalitative
dataonmigrantstimefromthispointofview,thenthetimetable
practicesofseasonallabormigrantsservetounitethem.However,
becausethetimetablesandtimerhythmsorganizingthesemigrants
everyday lives are radically different from those accepted by the
host society, it is difficult for them to serve as factors leading to
commonalitiesbetweenthemigrantsandthehostsociety.
In the case of longterm migrants, their time is not
structuredinthesamewayasseasonalmigrants.Forexample,the
main portion of time for the latter group is devoted to the work
time block. There is very little time allocated to postwork leisure
andrelaxation,whichdoesnotallowthemtoacquaintthemselves
with a wider spectrum of everyday practices in the host society.
However, longterm migrants, in addition to the time allocated for
work,haveacertainamountoftimeafterworkandonholidays.
Work would start at six. There were no issues with
transportation;itwouldworkaccordingtothetimetablefrom
the morning. We would not work on Saturdays or Sundays.
We would work from six in the morning to twothirty in the
afternoon, with a halfhour break in between. We only
understoodlaterthatthiswasagoodsystem.
Male,56yearsold,Yerevan/CzechRepublic(Prague)
Thisschedulewouldgivethemthechance,ontheonehand,
tointegratethemselvesintotheirworksurroundingsfromthepoint
ofviewoftimepractices.Ontheotherhand,thankstothefreetime
available,theycouldalsointegratethemselvesintootheraspectsof
thehostsociety.Thesameistrueforstudents.Studentshaveclear
timetables in their educational process but also enjoy free time;
54
whentheyallocatethistime,theycopytheacceptedtimepractices
of the host society. This characteristic of time allocation allows
students to integrate on the basis of the commonality of time
practicesfortheeverydaylifeforstudents.Inaddition,theavailable
free block of time allows them to observe and master the time
practicesofothersegmentsofthehostsociety.Insomecases,the
observationandmasteryoftimepracticesarenotabletotheextent
thattheyinfluencenotonlythetimeallocationofthemigrantbut
also his entire sphere of activity. Sometimes, this mastery even
equatesitselfwithachangeofmindset.
Yes. My whole mindset changed. Time management has
completely changed for me, as has the perception of time. I
havenoticedwhatabigdifferencethathasmade.
2.3.FoodRelatedPractices
Foodrelated practices occupy an important place in the
study of everyday life. These practices are referenced by
researchersofeverydaylife,suchasN.Elias(Elias2000,87109)and
P.Bourdieu(Bourdieu1984,179190).Despitetheirstableplaceina
countrys culture, foodrelated practices are also often subject to
change. Due to its markedly national nature, food often fulfils a
symbolic function for people, who use it to display their status,
socialclass,valuesystem,style,preferences,orethnicbelonging.It
is no coincidence that national cuisine often becomes a means for
theselfpresentationofmigrantsandanimportantwayforthemto
berecognized.Insomeplaces,thepresenceofarestaurantserving
national cuisine serves to make the given community more
recognizableinthehostsociety.
55
What is most surprising is that there were many Armenian

restaurants from Vladivostok to Artyom over around 35
kilometersArarat,Gyumri,Sevan,Ani.
These restaurants serve as a means, on the one hand, to

present oneself to the host society and to be recognized by
introducingonesculturethroughitscuisineand,ontheotherhand,
to bring together the migrants representative of that community
andhelpthemtointeractandsocialize.Presentingoneselfthrough
onesnationalcuisinealsohelpsamigrantgrowclosertothehost
society.
Food is indisputably an important component of the
everyday life of migrants. Some people are very conservative with
regard to food, whereas others seek to learn more about the
cuisinesofthehostsocietyorothermigrantcommunities,perhaps
tocopysomethingfromanothercuisine,presentitandtransferitto
ones own repertoire. The foodrelated practices in the migrant
communities we studied were quite varied. The foodrelated
practicesintheeverydaylivesofmigrantscanbedividedintothree
groups: a) foodorganization practices, b) practices for choosing
menusandfooditemsandc)practicesforinteractingwiththehost
societysfood.
Foodorganizationpracticesareparticularlydifferentamong
seasonal labor migrants. There are two main cases of food
organizationinthisgroup.Inonecase,theemployerorganizesthe
food. This solution to the food organization issue is usually
performed through a convenient cafeteria space set aside for the
migrantsforthispurpose.Thispracticeisoftenobservedinthecase
ofmigrantsengagedinworkonvariousconstructionsites.
We would work every day from eight in morning to eight or
nine in the evening. We had a lunch break. The host side
56
wouldarrangethemeal.Therewasalargecafeteriaandthey
would make food for us. We would go and eat there during
our lunch break and then return. We would eat our usual
Armenian food. The cook was Armenian; he would make
Armenian food. Like bean soup, for example, soup with
macaroniorlentil,rice,salads.
Thisapproachis,inprinciple,verysimilartothepracticesfor
timeandspatialallocationofseasonallabormigrantsinwhichthey
assume a passive role with respect to making decisions such as
where they live and how much they work. The employer makes
these decisions. As in those cases, the migrant here is also a
consumerofthedecisionsmadebyanotherpersontheemployer.
In the second case, the migrants solve the food issue
themselves. For this purpose, they either establish kitchen duty
shiftstopreparethefood,ortheypicksomeonewithcookingskills
fromamongtheirgroupandexempthimfromsomeoftheworkso
thathecanpreparefoodfortherestofthem.
Wewouldarrangeourownmeals.Wewouldbuythingsand
storethem;wehadappointedonetheboysasourcook.We
areusedtoourArmenianfood.Wehadgottenusedtoitand
wouldcookforourselves.
Regarding the menu, seasonal labor migrants largely eat

Armenian food. The menu does not vary for several reasons: the
migrants are fond of this food, they consider it delicious and
nutritious, or they are simply used to this diet. As part of their
eatingpractices,theydonotprioritizethefinerpointsoftastebut
rather pure functionality with regard to food after hard physical
labor. However, having goodquality food was not always of
importance.Someseasonallabormigrantswereunabletomaintain
57
the consumption of highquality food, explaining this by their busy

scheduleandtheirtemporarymigrantstatus.
Foodwasacomplicatedissue,forexample.Youwouldcome
back tired from work but you had to do something for food.
Youresotiredthatyoucanonlyeatsomethingquickly.What
would we do? We would boil macaroni and potatoes. You
know how it is? You dont even think about it being tasty
there.Youknowthatyouhavegoneforaspecificreasonand
youmustbearitanddoyourwork.
Male,35yearsold,Gyumri/Russia(Yakutsk)
Letusnotethatinbothcasesaboveeatinginacafeteriaor
preparing food oneself at homeeating practices become an
isolating factor in their own way, limiting the development of
contactandrelationsbetweenthemigrantsandthehostsociety.
Thesituationisdifferentforlongtermmigrantsandstudent
migrants. First, the food organization methods are different. In
addition to eating at home, it is quite common for them to eat at
various food establishments, where they become acquainted not
onlywiththevarioustypesoffoodinthehostsocietybutalsowith
thissocietyslifestyle.
Before I left, I did not know much about food. I would eat
whatever everybody ate. My list of favorite foods was very
limitedkufta, basturma, olivi salad, fried potatoes. The
typesoffoodIatereally grewthere. AfterIgotmarried,we
movedtoChicago,andChicagoisaverybigandmulticultural
place. There are different ethnic groups in the various
districts, and each district has its own small ethnic
restaurants. Andbecausemyhusband andIliketoeatalot,
wewouldtryeverything.Onourdaysoff,wewouldgotothe
variousethnicrestaurantsandtryouttheirfood.
Woman,30yearsold,Yerevan/USA(Chicago)
Another main difference between seasonal labor migrants

ontheonehandandlongtermandstudentmigrantsontheotheris
58
their way of eating. Whereas the seasonal migrants eat in their

accommodations or places of work with Armenian friends and
relatives who have also come for labor migration, longterm and
student migrants often take a more individual approach in their
eating practices. Their foodrelated practices give them a greater
opportunitytointeractwiththehostsocietyaswellasthecuisines
of other communities. In this sense, one can consider locations of
mixedeating practices to be various food establishments ranging
fromcafstorestaurants.
For student migrants, a common eating practice is to use
food to make their culture better known to others, wherein the
purposeisnotjusttosatiateonesphysicalneedforfoodbutalsoto
presentoneselfthroughfoodandtogettoknowothersbetter.
We had a national presentation ceremony there once. I
prepared dolma with grape leaves for our whole group.
Everyone liked it, and I felt good that the others like our
Armeniancuisinesomuch.
Female,29yearsold,Yerevan/Poland(Wroclaw)
For student migrants, the hostel kitchen was an important

transferenvironmentwhenitcametofood.Inthekitchen,theyhad
the chance to follow other students eating practices and become
acquaintedwithothernationalcuisinesandfoodrelatedtraditions.
To be honest, not a lot would have changed with regard to
food, if it werent for my usage of the common kitchen. I
wouldoftenlooktoseewhattheotherswerepreparing,andI
would try something similar. I learned to prepare sauces in
our common kitchen. I learned that from my Italian friends.
My friends from the kitchen considered eating macaroni
without a sauce as an insult to the macaroni. We dont
prepare macaroni correctly in Armenia. It should be eaten
with sauces and other additional thingsspices, cheese. I
learned to prepare knedlik from the Czechs. Then, I learned
59
howtostorefoodinarefrigeratorfromaSwedishboyyou
havetolethotfoodcoolbeforeputtingitinthefridge.
2.4.ClothingRelatedPractices
The research data show that there are three primary
approaches regarding clothingrelated practices. In the first
approach, no changes occur during the migration or after the
return. The second approach is to change some components of
clothing during the migration, but after the return, to reject these
changes and return to the Armenian style. The third approach
includeschangesduringthemigrationthatpersistafterthereturn.
Seasonal labor migrants in particular display a very
conservative stance with regard to clothing. For most of the day,
approximately 12 hours, they wear their work clothes. They then
spend the time period following work in their quarters and very
rarelygoouttopublicplaces.
Whenweleaveourworkplace,wedontreally need todress
likethem.Whatmattersisthatwearedressedneatly.
During their interviews, all of the seasonal labor migrants

emphasized the differences in clothingrelated practices between
themandthehostsociety.
We would dress in our own way. They would dress very
practically. They wouldnt care what others thought. What
matters was that it was clean; they didnt care much about
fashion there. Our people are pickier about what they wear;
wetendtoshowoff.Buttheywouldjustweartheireveryday
clotheswhatevertheyhadavailable,aslongasitwasclean.
60
Many of the seasonal migrants had a critical attitude

towards clothing in the host society. In particular, they considered
youngpeoplesclothingtobetoorevealinganddaring.
I dont like the way they dress there. We dress more solidly.
Therearealotofdifferencesbetweenthegirlsthereandthe
ones here. They are much more open there. I, for example,
haventchangedthewayIdress.
Male,25yearsold,Marmashenvillage/Russia(Arkhangelsk)
Wearing a miniskirt there was a common thing. A thirty or
thirtyfive year old woman here would not allow herself to
dress the way they did there. It probably comes from their
nationalmentality,too.
There were also migrants who considered the clothing

related practices of the host society to be generally positive but
nevertheless maintained their own style and preferences. People
with this approach could be observed in all groups of migrants.
However,thistypeofpersonwasmostcommonlyfoundinthelong
term migrant group, where everyday interaction and contact with
the host society are more active and intensive. As a result of this
interaction, the border between the self and the other changed in
shape and content. The border of a common global nature
stretching between the self and the other in all spheres of life and
emphasizingthedifferencebetweenthetwoculturesshiftsfromthe
cultural plane to the plane of practices due to frequent daily
interaction. This shift affects the nature of the border, rendering it
moreeasilyovercomeatthelevelofindividualeverydaypractices.In
contrast to the border between practices, which one tends to
violateoften,bordersthatemphasizeculturaldifferencesaremuch
more strongly and strictly defined and difficult to overcome.
Culturalbordersarecontinuouslinesthatstretchacrossallspheres
61
oflife.Ifanindividualidentifieswithaparticularculture,thenheis
ononesideoftheborderinallspheres,andtherestoftheworldis
ontheother.Inanyarea,rejectingonesownpracticesisassociated
withcrossingtheborderandenteringaforeignland.Atthelevelof
individualpractices,thedifficulttoovercomeculturalbordersbegin
tocrack,transformingintomultiple,smallbordersthateachrelate
toagivenpractice.Eachoftheseborderscanbeviolated,without
leading to a confrontation of the cultural issue of what is native
versus foreign. If a person prefers to wear comfortable clothing
every day, then he violates only the clothingrelated practice; he
does not betray his own culture and stop being Armenian. In this
case, clothing is not an item emphasizing ones national belonging
but rather indicates interaction with the host society and learning
newpractices.
Itwasbafflingtomehowonecouldliveinnewsurroundings
butstaylimitedtothesamestereotypes.Imnotsayingthat
youshoulddenythatyoureArmenian.Butatthesametime,
it is wrong to close oneself off. There were boys who would
even dress the way those illegal migrants did. How can you
study at the university and see how others around you dress
and then continue to wear the same clothes? Black clothes,
pointyshoes,thatwayoftalkingandgesturing....
Thus, for some migrant groups, the preferences related to

clothing were created by cultural boundaries, whereas for others,
they were decided by practicebased boundaries. Cultural
boundariesdeterminegrouppreferencesforclothingandfacilitate
the reproduction of a group style, whereas practicebased
boundaries are about individual style. In the first case, clothing
indicates an individuals belonging to a group, whereas in the
secondcase,itfocusesontheindividualstastesandchoices.
62
People dress comfortably. Its a bit different for us here. I

often get the impression that we dress such that others can
takenoticeofus,evenifitisnotcomfortable.Itsdifficultfor
someone to walk in those shoes, yet theyre on her feet. I
wouldntsaythatpeopletherehavebettertastethantheydo
here,itsmorethefactthattheydresscomfortablythere.
Female,25yearsold,Yerevan/Canada(Ottawa)
Withregardtoclothing,theculturalbordersaremuchmore
clearly delineated in the seasonal labor migrants surroundings as
well as for those longterm or student migrants who prefer to
presenttheiridentitythroughgroupindicators.Changesinclothing
can be particularly observed in those migrants who prefer tactics
that present their identity and establish their status through a
displayoftheirownindividuality.Insuchcases,thegroupindicators
areanobstacleforthepresentationandrecognitionofindividuality
inthesensethat,forthehostsociety,theyplayagreaterfunctionin
distinguishingthemigrantsandemphasizingtheirdifferences.
Those people who place greater importance on their
individual characteristics with regard to the establishment of their
statusdonotconsiderclothingtoserveaveryimportantfunction,
anditisnotseenasastatusfactor.
WhenIcamefromthere,Ididnothaveanyblackclothes;they
wereallinbrightcolors.Iwoulddresscomfortablyjeans,t
shirts,blouses.Comfortwasofprimaryimportance.Itisonly
thenthatIcanbecalm,balancedandrespondadequatelyto
mysurroundings.
Thosemigrantswhotraveltoahostsocietywiththeready
made status of a seasonal migrant wear clothing that represents
theirgroupidentity.Clothingisanindicatoroftheirgroupidentity.
Even if they like the clothingrelated practices of the host society,
theydonotallowanychangestotheirclothing.
63
The way people dressed there was more comfortable.

Clothingwasmoreofacomfortthingforthem,nottoflaunt.
ButIwouldwearwhatwewereusedtowearing.Theywould
notweartheclothesthatIwouldwearthere.
For this reason as well, seasonal migrants are easily
distinguishedandrecognizableinthehostsociety.Inthiscase,both
the migrant and the host society do not tend to examine the
formers individual characteristics or to reevaluate his migrant
statusfromthatpointofview.
To summarize, we can state that the clothingrelated
behaviors of migrants are very different between the various
groups.Inonegroupofmigrants,especiallytheseasonalmigrants,
clothingrelatedbehaviorsplaytheroleofaculturalindicator,which
presents the migrant as a representative of an ethnic group that
differs from the host society. For another group of migrants,
clothing is not something special that is used to present ones
identity;rather,itisaregularpartofthepracticesofeverydaylife.
Such migrants do not present themselves to the host society
throughclothingbutratherthroughtheirindividuality.
2.5.TheNatureandCharacteristicsofMigrantsEveryday
Relationships:PrivateandPublicPractices
Therelationshipofamigranttowardshishostsocietybegins
with the migrants formation of a particular perception about the
given society. The majority of the migrants interviewed as part of
thisstudyfoundthatthehostsociety,irrespectiveofwhichcountry
it was, was very different from Armenia. This difference included
almostallspheresofeverydaylife.Themajorityofthemigrantswho
were asked about the differences between the host society and
64
Armenia did not have any particular sphere in mind but rather
ponderedthewayoflifetakenasawhole.
Youcantcomparetheirwayoflifewithours.Theyreallylive
in a completely different way. They prefer a free life.
Relationships are completely different there. Everyone is
responsible for himself there. If a woman decides on
something,shecanconsultwithaman,butitisnotnecessary
todoso.Orthechildren.Agirlcancomehomeatthreeinthe
morningthereandthatisconsiderednormal.Butthatwould
leadtoallkindsofscandalsandproblemshere.Orifsomeone
is an adult there, then he is independent. He is his own boss
and he has his own life, he makes his own decisions. But I
dontlikethesethings.Inthatsense,mytravelingabroadand
returninghasnotchangedme.
Theperceptionsaboutthehostsocietiesarereflectedinthe
migrants narratives. Changes in the migrants practices therefore
playanimportantrolebecausetheiractionsareveryoftenreactions
to not only their actual surroundings but also the interpretations
(commentaries) contained in their descriptions of those
surroundings. The term interpretation is used in this text with a
meaning similar to that given by C. Girtz (Girtz 1973, 333). Often,
migrants actions in their surroundings are correlated to their
descriptions of those surroundings. It is therefore also very
importanttoadequatelyperceivetherealityofthehostsocietyand
react to it to understand the practices realized there towards
migrants.Forexample,ifamigrantcorrectlyperceivesandaccepts
the trust that is being shown towards him and does not see it as
naivet, then his practices are more appropriate. On the contrary,
hewilltrytotakeadvantageofthattrusttogainsmallbenefits.
65
We would live normal lives. Nobody would try to trick

anybody else. Trickery was not something common there.
Theirleveloftrustwashigh.
Male,43yearsold,Gyumri/Germany(Berlin)
In this context, one of the anecdotes narrated by a

respondent from Germany is quite interesting. At a refugee camp,
some of the resident Armenians snickered at the narrator and his
companions when they decided to seek work and support
themselvesratherthanextendingtheirstayatthecampandtaking
what was given to them for free. Such cases also occur in the
narrativesofmigrantswhohavehadmigrationexperiencesinother
Europeancountries.Forexample,someArmenianswhowereliving
inFranceasrefugeesandreceivedanallowanceweresurprisedto
hearthattheirrelativeswantedtomovetoFrance,nottoliveoffan
allowancebuttoworkandsupportthemselves.Asimilaranecdote
also comes from a respondent who had a longterm migration
experienceintheCzechRepublic.
Well, we arent typical migrantswe are legal. I like to see
that all our papers are in order. Let me tell you a storyI
neededworkersoncesoIwenttoarefugeecampnearBrno
tohiresomeworkers.TheywereArmenians.Itoldthemabout
the job and that I also arranged papers and could get them
outofthecamp,buttheydidntwantit.Theylaughedatme.
Well,peoplecanbeverydifferent.
Interestingly, the respondent observed the differences

betweentypicalandatypicalmigrantsthataremadevisiblethrough
practicesthatareformedbasedondifferentinterpretations.
Insomecases,asaresultofanincompleteunderstandingof
thepublicandsocialpolicypracticesofthehostsociety,theroleof
themigrantasabeneficiarybecomesawayoflife.Inthosecases,if
theperson triestounderstandhissurroundings,thepracticesthat
66
formhisbehaviorbecomemorecompleteandallowhimtooccupy
a higher position in that society, to secure a good job and to see
somenotablegrowthineconomic,culturalandsocialcapital.
Inthissense,itisextremelyimportantformigrantsnotonly
togettoknowtheirhostsocietybetter,includingitscharacteristic
features and practices, but also to appropriately interpret the
characteristics and practices of that society. When migrants find
themselvesinnewsurroundings,animportanttaskforthemistobe
recognizable and to recognize the person standing before them. A
central component of this mutual recognition process is the
exchangeofsigns.AsJ.Derridasays,theprimaryfunctionofasign
istocommunicateinformation(Derrida1982,294326).Inthiscase,
that information is transferred from one reality to anotherfrom
themigranttothehostsocietyandbackthroughvariouspractices.
An important issue here is the extent to which the migrant can
understand and adequately interpret the practices through which
information about the everyday life of the host society is being
transferredfromthehostsocietytohimaswellasthepracticesto
whichthemigrantchoosestoreact.Forexample,ifamalemigrant
interpretsawomansmilingathimasshewalkspastinthelaneas
anattempttoseducehim,thenhemaychoosetoreacttoitwithan
actionthatleadstoconflict.However,ifheassessesthesmileasa
common way to greet someone, then his reaction would be to
imitatethatgreetingandtousethisapproach,ascommonpractice,
in the future. In some cases, the function of information
transferring signs is conducted by background or basic practices
for example, the manner in which people dress, their style, their
greetings, and their ways of showing trust. It is noteworthy that
when migrants adopt such practices in host societies, they
sometimes find themselves in the opposite situation upon their
67
returntoArmeniaandencounterdifficultiesincomprehendingtheir
ownsurroundings.
Wesawalotofthings.Thechildrensworldviewdevelopedin
a completely different way. The Germans mindset is quite
different. We have really developed through our interaction
with them. For example, it was shameful for them to cross
underaredlight.Arespectedpersonshouldntbreakthelaw
like that; it was shameful. Their concept of honor was
completelydifferent.Theywerenormalpeople;theythought
likenormalpeopledo.Here,peoplegettoacertainposition,
andtheywanttouseitagainstothers;theylookdownupon
them.Itwasntlikethatthere.Onthecontrary,theywouldnt
flauntanyadvantagestheyhad.Thatrestaurantownerwasa
multimillionaire,butifhesawapieceofpaperonthefloor,he
would stoop down, pick it up and set it on the table. You
wouldnt see something like that therethe owner here
wouldprobablyevenusethechancetoshoutathisemployees
and show himself off in that way. The difference in levels of
civilizationishuge,immense.Also,besidesthat,thelawsare
for the people, and the people obey the laws. A simple
differencethetaxlawsherehavebeendesignedtostrangle
anysmallbusinesspeople.Ihavebeenarestaurantmanager;
I know these things. Do you think the authorities in Yerevan
dontknowthem?
Interpretationsareveryimportantinthissensebecausethey
allow migrants to react more appropriately and to apply the
practicestypicaltoeverydaylifeinthegivensociety.Whenpeople
try to add their own interpretation of their surroundings and the
practices of everyday life in the context of their own perceptions,
then their behavior and practices begin to change significantly,
which can also lead to clashes on some occasions. For example,
when a migrant in Russian surroundings interprets the warm
treatmentofthewomanworkingintheshopasasignofseduction,
68
thenitcanleadtoincorrectinterpersonalresponsesandbecomea
causeforconflict.
The biggest problem was that we had a conflict with the
locals, and it was difficult to resolve. It wasnt my conflict; it
wasmorelikeaconflictofalltheArmenianboys.Ittookthree
daystoresolvetheconflict.Theconflicthadoccurredbecause
ofus:ourguyshadenteredashopandsaidsomebadthings;
the shop girls husband came over to defend her honor. We
triedtonotletalotofpeopleknowaboutit.
Inthissense,perceptionsaboutrightandwrongalsoplaya
veryimportantrole.Ifthemigranttriestoevaluatethehostsociety
basedonhisownperceptionsofrightandwrong,thenhispractices
could sometimes lead to very different and sometimes inappro
priatesituations.However,ifhetriestobecomefamiliarwiththat
society and understand the perceptions of right and wrong,
beautifulanduglyandgoodandevilthatareacceptedthere,then
hispracticeswillbegintotransform,fromconflictingtoharmonious
practices.
There might be moments when you might get into a conflict
withsomeone.Butheisrightinhisownwayofthinking;its
justthatyoudidntthinkinthatway.
Several differences in daytoday life, which were often

mentioned by the respondent migrants, were noted. In one case,
differences were noted that separate the migrant from society
according to a cultural point of view. In this case, the border
distances them and separates the self and the other, dividing life
intousandthem.Thisseparationisverycommon,especiallyfor
seasonal migrants or for those longterm or student migrants who
seekvariouswaystoisolatethemselvesfromthehostsociety.One
waytoachieveisolationistogrouptogetherbynationality.Usually,
69
thesemigrantsfindotherArmenianmigrantsandbandtogether,or
theyintegrateintothelocalArmeniancommunity.
There were many establishments in our sector where the
owners were Armenian. I would be in constant contact with
them.Forme,itwaseasiertocommunicatewithArmenians.
Thesemigrantsreducetheirinteractionwiththehostsociety
to a minimum and usually spend their time outside work or study
isolated in their ethnic surroundings. In such cases, migrants draw
verystrictlinesbetweentheselfandtheother,oftenemphasizing
theinviolabilityofthatborder.Thatinviolabilityparticularlyarisesin
cases in which the migrant equates his individual border with the
culturalborder;thus,theculturalcomponent,asagroupindicator,
becomes the primary component of his identity, eclipsing other
components of his individuality. For this reason, when themigrant
seestheeverydaylifeofthehostsocietyandthevariouspractices
representingit,hecommunicateswiththemasarepresentativeof
anethnoculturalgroupratherthanasanindividual.
Inthefactorywhereweworked,weeachhadtokeepourown
spaces clean, there was not supposed to be anything under
ourfeet.Eachofushadtosweepandcleanourspace.Butour
Armenianboystoldmetogoandexplaintothemanagerthat
that was against our traditionsArmenian men did not
sweep.Irefused.Andthesituationtherewassuchthateither
youhadtofollowtherulesorquityourjob.Sosomeofthem
quit,whileotherschangedandbegantosweep.
Woman,30yearsold,Yerevan/USA(Chicago)
Insuchcases,whenthemigrantcommunicateswiththehost
community, he is not representing his own individuality but rather
hisethnicityandtheprimaryfactorbehindit,hisculture.Therefore,
theeverydayrelationshipsofthesemigrantswiththeirhostsociety
arebuiltonthebasisofculturaldifferencesandcontrasts.
70
The European value system is different from the traditional

one we have in Armenia. Some things that are common in
Europearenotfittingtoourethnicnature;theyarealienand
unacceptable.
Culture,oneofthemostgeneralphenomenaofhumanlife,
is reflected in the level of everyday relationships and becomes a
majorfactorinfluencingthem;itthusexplainsthegulfbetweenthe
everyday relationships of the given individual and his host society
anddoesnotallowthestrictandsolidculturalbordersto crackat
the level of individual relationships and to receive a multilayered
naturebasedonindividualcharacteristicsorstyles.Thosemigrants
whohavebeenabletocrosstheborderwithinthemselvesbetween
theindividualandhisculturehavesucceededinformingtheirown
subjectivity,afterwhichthebordersdonotseparatethenativeand
the foreign but rather the individual self and differing everyday
practices,irrespectiveoftheculturalbelongingthatthosepractices
claim.
Any misunderstanding is cultural. As long as you dont
communicate and interact, that misunderstanding will
remain. But when you try to review your culture, look at the
issuefromthepointofviewofthepersonopposite,thenthe
misunderstanding vanishes. Studying in those surroundings
reduced my nationalistic and extreme mindset. After
interacting with them, I gained a more objective sense of
judgment.
Female,27yearsold,Yerevan/Poland(Warsaw)
In our interviews, one common occurrence is for the host

societys practices to be perceived and, in some cases, assessed
correctlybutstillinterpretedasbeingunacceptable.Thismakesfor
quiteinterestingmaterialinthesensethatwhilethegivenpractice
is accepted on an individual assessment level, the migrant
71
nevertheless fails to cross the cultural border, and he rejects the

possibilityofapplyingthatpracticehimself.
Peopletherelivebetter,andtheyliveright,thereisnodoubt
about that. Whatever they plan, they then strive to achieve.
There are many, many differences there. If a child is in the
tenth grade there, then the parents role when it comes to
decision making is virtually nonexistent. He is in charge of
himself, from all points of view. They are very independent
there.Ourupbringingandattitudearedifferent,bothtowards
adultsand children.We putalotofobstaclesinfrontofour
childrenwe say that something is not permitted, and we
forbid it. Childadult relationships are different there. But I
dont like their approach. I havent noticed any specific
changesinmyselfinthisregard.
The perception and interpretation of their own status also

influence the characteristics of the practices of different migrant
groups. As a rule, the everyday life practices of the seasonal labor
migrants arise from their arranged status and facilitate isolation
from the host society rather than an approach toward it. In many
cases, this group is evasive. In almost all spheres of everyday life,
ranging from clothing and food to personal and everyday public
relationships, primarily differentiating practices exist. As a result,
thehabitusofthemenialseasonalmigrantforms,whichthenleads
thehostsocietytoadoptcertainattitudestowardsthem.Forsuch
migrants, who are isolationist and seek to emphasize their
differencesfromthehostsocietyineverypossibleway,thereaction
fromthehostsocietyissimilarlyoppositionistanddifferentiating.
However,thosemigrantswhoseektoestablishthestatusof
a longterm arrival have practices that are significantly different.
Theirmaindescriptorisnottodifferentiatethemselvesoroppose.
To the contrary, in many cases, this group of migrants strives to
72
adoptandapplytherulesofbehaviorofthehostsociety;theways
of interacting in public places; and certain practices of food,
clothing,leisure,timeandspatialmanagement.Thesemigrantsgive
particularimportancetothosepublicpractices,whichthenreduces
thelikelihoodofthehostsocietysopposingthem.
Whengeneralizing,itispossibletodistinguishbetweenfour
mainapproachesbymigrantstowardstheeverydaypracticesofthe
host society. In the first approach, the migrant generalizes when
describingthehostsocietyandfocusesonthefactorsthatarevery
different from his own, which he considers to be wrong and,
naturally,unacceptable.Thisrelationshipiscommontoasolidand
difficultculturalborder.
In the second approach, the migrant describes the host
societyasverydifferentandassessessomeofthesedifferencesas
correctbutlargelyunacceptable.Thesemigrants,incontrasttothe
first group,see the differences between the host societyand their
ownnotjustmorebroadlyonbothsidesoftheculturalborderbut
also in detail with regard to daytoday practices, such as clothing,
leisure, food, youth lifestyles, parentchild relationships, male
female relationships, attitudes towards the law, interpersonal
relationships, social behavior and other practices. However, the
borders remain for these migrants, primarily on the cultural level
and not according to practices, which explains why these borders
remaindifficultforsuchmigrantstoovercome.
The third approach is somewhat similar to the second. The
migrant once again accepts the differences, specifies some on the
level of practices and considers some of them to be correct.
However,incontrasttothesecondcase,hedoesnotconsiderthese
practices as being primarily unacceptable to himself but rather as
being selectively acceptable. In such cases, the migrant becomes a
user of the practices that he considers to be acceptable. In
73
particular,heiswillingtoadoptthepracticesthatdonotappearto
strictlycontradicthissenseofculturalbelongingorethnicidentity.
Theserefermainlytopublicpractices,socialbehavior,maintaining
law and order and human relationships. In such cases, the solidity
and strictness of the cultural border begin to crack and vanish on
the level of those personal practices that do not contradict the
migrants ethnocultural identity. In such cases, the border is
overcome on the level of personal practices, but only when the
cultural factor does not play a large role in generalizing such
practices.However,oneshouldnotethatinsuchcases,thepersonal
practicesthatariseremainondifferentsidesoftheexistingborder
betweentheindividualandhisculture.Theindividualisnotyetfree
enough to decide for himself when he can violate the border
between himself and his culture and when he should not. He still
primarily subjects himself to the borders dictated by his own
cultural nature. Continuing to believe in cultural stereotypes, he
mainly adopts those practices that do not contrast with cultural
stereotypes and are not dangerous in terms of creating conflicts
within his individuality and ethnic culture. In this case, personally
applied practices are performed, but a change of personality does
notoccur.
Theyhaveamorecarefreelife.Theyalsotakebettercareof
themselvesandtheirfamilies.Theymakesurethattheydress
wellandeatwell.Wearemoreconservative;wetendtoresist
new things. But I guess that is an issue of our national
mindset. You could say that living abroad has made some
lightbrushstrokesonmythinking.Forexample,Iamnotvery
conservative anymore. Even in the issue of my childrens
upbringing or in my relationships with my friends and
relatives. Even if something is a tradition, if it has lost its
meaninginlife,youmustgiveitup.
74
Thefourthapproachisthemostunique.Culturaldifferences
are emphasized in this approach as well. However, the critical
approachtakenisnotjustdirectedatthecultureofthehostsociety
but also at the migrants own culture. Such migrants are
characterized by a strictly personal attitude towards practices and
choose practices basedon their need for selfdevelopment or self
realization, allowing themselves to be led mainly by their own
convenience.Thecritiqueoftheirowncultureisusuallyreservedfor
situations in which cultural reality limits the individuals ability to
achieve selfgrowth and selfrealization. Such individuals have
reachedtheborderbetweentheirindividualityandtheculturethey
represent. These are the people who have crossed the Rubicon of
cultural limitations and are searching for paths towards self
development and selfrealizationpaths that are not shown to
them by their culture, as a readymade product, but rather are
discoveredbytheselfasapersonalpathtoreachthetruthsoflife.
At first, my surroundings and my family influenced me. Now
thatIknowwhatisrightforme,Icanunderstandthatmyself.
Itsnotthefamilythatsayswhatisimportant.Thatdifference
isverybig.
Thisgroupofmigrantsischaracterizedbyadiversityofboth
interpretations and practices. The borders between them and the
host society are not divided by a cultural watershed but rather by
the practices of this individual and other individuals living in the
hostsociety.Forthatreason,suchpeopledonotconcludethatthe
host society is right or wrong in doing something. What is more
characteristic is the questioning of whether the given practice is
somethingthatissuitabletotheirneedsandacceptabletothem.
Whocansaywhatitmeanstoliveright?Itsallrelative.Itall
depends on the person, whether or not he or she lives
75
correctly for himself or herself. And you cannot generalize

somethingforinstance,expectthesamethingfromanother
representativeofthesamenationalitybecausetheyarevery
different people. And you have to interact with each person
based on that persons qualities, personality, nature and so
on. So, no generalization is possible, like if its a Georgian,
thenthisishowIllinteract,ifitsanAzeri,thenIllbehavethis
way
Female,29yearsold,Yerevan/Poland(Wroclaw)
Such migrants have not lost their sense of national

belonging; it has simply changed in nature. They do not see the
national and the cultural as something petrified and impossible to
change, governing the individual. Rather, such migrants see the
national and the cultural as something that can be constantly
improved and critically transformed by the individual. For this
reason,thisgroupofreturnedmigrantsismoredynamicinArmenia
intermsoftheireffortsatdevelopment,progressandthedesireto
changetheirsurroundings.
Themigrantsinthefirstandsecondcasesarecharacterized
by practices that are important to the border that emphasize
cultural differences. Those practices, especially those for the first
group, do not approximate the migrant to the host society but
rather distance them from each other. Therefore, the everyday
practicesofthesemigrantsaremoreisolatingthanapproximating.
The migrants of the second and third groups choose
practices that focus not only on cultural aspects but also on
personal aspects. Therefore, these practices crack the solid and
rough cultural border between the migrant and the host society,
taking that border to the level ofpractices and making it easier to
overcome. This increased permeability of the border is particularly
experiencedbythemigrantsinthefourthgroup.
76
The interpretations and narratives disseminated among

migrants are important because they form the discourse for the
formation of their relationship with the host society. These
discourses include issues such as what is right and what is wrong,
whatismoralandwhatisimmoralandwhatisbeautifulandwhatis
ugly.Thesediscoursesthencontributetothedevelopmentofverbal
texts for tactics relating to the relationship with the host society.
These texts spread into the migrant groups in one way or another
andformthepracticesinthatmigrantgroup.M.Foucaultrefersto
this process as discourse practices (Foucault 1972, 2164; Wooffitt
2005,146147).Thus,theseareactionsthatareconductedthrough
speech and that affect reality, leading to changes in peoples
behaviorandpractices.
These discourses are very different and depend on the
cultural habitus of those engaging in the discourse as well as the
quality of their cultural, social and economic capital, their aims in
life and their migration intentions. Based on these factors, the
migrantscanbefoundinonefield(fieldasdefinedbyP.Bourdieu:
(Bourdieu 1984, 226230; Bourdieu 1993a, 3843)) or another,
wheretheybegintoapplytheirmigrationtactics.Thefieldsinwhich
the migrants are foundplay an important role in theirlater tactics
and practices. Choosing a field is an important issue. Usually,
migrants choose a field based on their lives and migration
intentions. Some examples of fields are universities, construction
sites,resorttowns,refugeecampsandsoon.
An important issue to consider is how the practices
regulating public behavior in the host society are adopted. As we
noted above, an important factor for adoption is correct
interpretation of the practice by the migrant, meaning correct
perceptionoftheinterpretationsandtextthatarecharacteristicof
thegivenhostsociety.Onatextuallevel,themigrantsintegration
77
leadstoaseriesofsignificantchanges.Inparticular,thesechanges
refer to the phenomenon presented by N. Elias, which he called a
move from public practices adopted under external obligation to
those arising from personal convictions (Elias 2000, 173180).
Adopting the text helps the migrant to apply the host societys
practices due to his own conscious decision and not based on an
external obligation to do so. In such cases, the degree of possible
conflict between the migrant and the host society reaches the
minimal level in the area of public practices. Their relationships
movefromaculturallydifferentiatingleveltoanindividuallevel.In
this sense, it is interesting to observe the behavior in returned
migrants as they begin to act more uninhibitedly on the plane to
Armenia; they explain this change as a result of finally gaining
freedomfromtheinhibitingobligationsofthehostsociety.Theycan
feel freer in their native surroundings. This response primarily
characterizesthosemigrantswhoperceivethepracticesofthehost
society as an external obligation throughout the duration of their
migration,withoutunderstandingtheimportanceofthesepractices
in regulating public behavior. Those migrants who understand the
practicesontheleveloftextsandmakeappropriateinterpretations
may sometimes begin to show a more critical approach. This
approach is particularly characteristics of migrants in the second
andthirdgroups.
To summarize, the vast majority of the people we inter
viewedweremigrantswhodonotacceptthehostsocietyspracti
ces throughout the duration of this migration and lead a primarily
isolatedeverydaylifecharacteristicofseasonalmigrantsduringthe
periodofmigration.Wealsointerviewedmigrantswhowereforced
toadoptsomepracticesofthepubliclifeofthehostsocietyduring
the duration of their migration. They thenrejected thesepractices
upon their return to Armenia and returned to the practices
78
characteristic of their native surroundings. The other group is a

minority among the migrants; these people take an individual
approach to the practices in the host society and preferentially
accept and retain some of these upon their return to Armenia.
Thesemigrantsareusuallyobservedamongthestudentmigrantsor
those longterm migrants who have returned from Western
countries,wheretheyhadintegratedintothehostsociety.
79
CHAPTER3
THENATUREOFTHEPRACTICESOFMIGRANTS
RETURNEDTOARMENIA
Asmentionedearlier,themainresearchobjectofthisstudy
is returned migrants, who are considered to be potential cultural
agents. Our objective has not been to obtain quantitative or
statisticaldataabouttheirtypeofinfluenceanditssocialscale.Of
interesttousarethedepthandqualitativeaspectsofthechange,
includingtheimpactofthereturnontheidentityoftheindividual
and his status, strategies and objectives as well as the definitions
given to these by the migrants themselves and the practices that
representtheminpublicplaces.Forthatreason,aswhenstudying
the changes in migrants during their migration, we have analyzed
theireverydaylifeandrelatedpracticestostudytheconsequences
andimpactsofthesechangesafterthemigrantsreturn.Therefore,
theobjectiveofthissectionistostudytheimpactofthepractices
thattransformedduringthemigrationexperience.Specificattention
hasbeenfocusedontheirimpact,ontheonehand,onthepractices
of everyday life and, on the other, on public and civic practices.
Thus,ourinterestliesnotinthequalitativesideofreturnmigration
but rather in the transformation of practices during the post
migrationperiod.
The study of return migration and returnees occupies a
special place in migration research. Some of the first attempts to
define return migration come from F. Cerase (Cerase 1970, 217
239), R. King (King 1978, 175182) and G. Gmelch (Gmelch 1980,
135159).R.Kingwasoneofthefirsttoattempttodefinethereturn
80
as a specific type of migration research. He identified the types of

return and the factors that affect them, distinguishing between
severaltypesofreturn:1)occasionalreturn,whichisareturnafter
infrequentandbrieftrips(e.g.,travel,visitingrelatives,business);2)
seasonal return, which is characteristic of seasonal labor migrants;
3)temporaryreturn,whichisareturntothecountryoforiginfora
particular period with the intention of reemigrating; and 4)
permanent return, which is a return to the origin country with the
intentiontoreestablishoneselfthere(King2000,1011).
F.Cerasesapproachtothetypologyofreturnfocusesonthe
original intention of the migrant and the cultural transformation
that occurs during migration and is therefore of particular interest
to us. He proposes 4 types of return: 1) return of failure, which
referstothosemigrantswhoencounteredobstaclestotheiroriginal
intentionandwereforcedtoreturntotheircountryoforiginafter
failing; 2) return of conservatism, which refers to those migrants
who live abroad for a certain time period but face difficulties in
adapting to the new culture and therefore make the decision to
return;3)returnofinnovation,whichreferstothosemigrantswho
adapt to the new culture and then make a decision to return,
bringing new values and ideas with them; and 4) return of
retirement, which refers to those migrants who live their working
years abroad and, crossing the age of employability, return to the
motherland to live their years of retirement there (Cerase 1974,
245262).
Ifweusethetypologiesdescribedabove,thenaccordingto
Kingsapproach,thetwodistinctgroupsthatexistinourstudyare
seasonal and permanent migrants. According to Cerases typology,
we have primarily studied the first three typesi.e., returns of
failure,conservatismandinnovation.
81
We prefer to distinguish migrants based on their applied

practicesafterreturn.Ourobjectiveisnottodividethemintotypes
basedonthatfactorbutrathertoevaluatethequalityofitsimpact.
3.1.ThePrivateandPublicPracticesofSeasonalLabor
MigrantsafterTheirReturntoArmenia
CaseStudy1
Asacasestudy,wehavetakenaseparateruralcommunity
inwhichtheseasonallabormigrantsliveinacompactarrangement.
Atotalof20individualindepthinterviews,3expertinterviewsand
9 participant observations were conducted. During the research
administration,andwiththepurposeofobservation,themembers
of the research team spent a few days with the members of the
communitywhohostedthemandallowedthemtospendthenight
at their house. The selected respondents consisted of 12 migrants
and 8 people who had not migrated, where 4 of the latter were
from families with migrants and 4 were not. The objective of this
casestudywastoobservetheimpactofseasonalmigrationonthe
public life of one community. We were interested in studying the
qualitative aspects of that impact at the individual, family and
communitylevels.Forthisresearch,asmallcommunityintheShirak
regionwasselected.Approximately70%ofthecommunityfamilies
have a member who has migrated for seasonal work. Any given
familymightalsohaveupto23members,namely,thefatherand
sons,whoperformseasonalwork.
Migration has become one of the characteristic features of
thiscommunity,especiallyinthelasttwentyyears.Ithasbeenone
of the main tactics used to fulfill the life objectives set by the
villagers.Accordingtothestudyparticipants,thefollowingprimary
typesofneedsaremetasaresultofmigration.
82
1. Thefirsttypeconsists,naturally,ofthebasicneedsofthe
familye.g., food, clothing, heating in the winter, and
healthcarefacilitieswhenneeded.
2. Thesecondtypeconsistsofreproducingthesocialstatus
ofthefamilyinthevillage.
3. The third type consists of educational needs. In
particular,migrationallowsthefamilytomeetthehigher
educationneedsofthechildreninthefamily.
4. Thefourthtypeistherequirementfortheformationof
socialstatus.Thedignifiedlifeofafamilyinthevillageis
consideredtobeanimportantissue,asisthedisplayof
indicators that exhibit this level of wellbeing. These
indicators include expensive clothes and jewelry,
renovatedhouses,carsandtheorganizationofeventsof
social importancein particular, having an abundant
table during New Year celebrations or organizing a
wedding.
Ifwecountnow,thenwewillseethataround78morecars
haveappearedinthevillageoverthelastfewyears.Sosome
of the changes are already clear. Let me give you another
example.Wehaventhadasmanyweddingsinthevillagein
allthoseyearsasweveseeninthelasttwoyears.
Male,37yearsold,Arpenivillagemayor
It is noteworthy that all of the villagers who migrated had

only one objectiveto earn money. That is, they usually bring
economiccapitalbackwiththem..However,itisimportanttonote
that they use part of that economic capital to improve the living
conditions of their family, and they transform the rest of that
economic capital into social and cultural capital. The main method
for transforming economic capital into cultural capital is by
83
providingtheirchildrenwithaccesstohighereducation.Atotalof7
of the 18 respondents in the village mentioned expenses of this
type.
We basically tackle our everyday issuesclothing and food.
When my children grew up, university expenses appeared as
well.Mysonisinhissecondyear.Then,mywifegotadmitted
to the Gyumri Pedagogical University. She took distance
coursesforfiveyears,sothatshewouldnotbeexcludedshe
taughtattheschoolatthattime.Myfamilymembersrealize
that if I dont go, they will be deprived of a lot of things.
Education, decent clothing . As technology improves, they
wantnewthings.Itwasdifferentinourtimes,nowtimesare
changing.
Male,42yearsold,Arpenivillage
Moreover,itshouldbenotedthatthissituationisnotspeci
fic only to the village in our case study but rather to the whole of
Armenia(Hakobyan2009,123128).Oneotherinvestmentthatthe
villagers considered to be important is the establishment of the
family status in the village and the status of the man representing
thatfamily.Statuswasconsideredimportantforunmarriedmenas
well. They also noted the importance of such expenses. These
expensesmainlyrelatedtopresentableandexpensiveclothing,gold
chains and a foreign car, if possible. In that sense, our participant
observations in the community were very significant. Arpeni is a
geographically small villageone can walk from one end to the
otherin2025minutes.Ofthe262voters,thatistosayadults,in
the village, approximately 100 men travel for seasonal labor
migrationeveryyear.Oneoftheirmainintentionsuponreturningis
to buy a foreign car. One notices the foreign cars parked outside
many of the houses in the village. Despite the small size of the
village, the returned migrants of the village prefer to go from one
placetoanotherintheircarsandnotonfoot.Whenaskedwhythey
84
preferred to drive these short distances rather than walk, one of

them replied that it was a matter of prestige to display his newly
purchased vehicle. Another important indicator of status is home
renovationandthepurchaseofnewfurniture.Anotherindicatoris
thelevelofluxurydisplayedinNewYearcelebrationsathome.Asa
clearerindicatoroftheimportanceofthisdisplay,onecanconsider
theabundanceoftheNewYeardinnertable.
Whenyoubringinalotofmoney,youbuyacarorfurniture
for the home. You might be getting your son or daughter
engaged, so you have expenses there. You cant live without
that.Thechildwantstogotocollege,thefamilywantstobuy
somethingforthehome,ortheywantacar.
Therefore, the main benefit of migration on the family and

individual levels is the accumulation of economic capital, which
meetsprimaryneedsandisthenpartiallyconvertedinsomecases
toculturalandsocialcapital.Thisculturalandsocialcapital,onthe
onehand,servestoimprovethefamilysstatusand,ontheother,
allows some members of the family to gain an education and a
degree.Anothermanifestationofculturalandsocialcapitalgrowth
isthedevelopmentofartisanskillsamongboys.
Therehadnotbeenanyartisansamongthosewhohavegone,
especially the youth. Now many of them are becoming
artisans. If they had stayed in the village, they would have
learnednothing.ButnowIseepicturesinthecomputerofthe
things they have made, and I am surprised. They are doing
seriouswork,andyoucantellthattheyaregoodartisans.
Regarding the changes in the migrants personal and public

practices,sometransformationscanbeobserved,especiallyamong
young boys. Many of these boys are inclined to make seasonal
85
migration an important practice in their lifestyle. Migration has

beentransformedintoatacticforliving.
Going for seasonal work and coming back is becoming a
lifestyle for them. They cannot find another way to make
money. And, from what I gather, those who have gone once
wanttogoalways.Eveniftheygetanoffertoworkhere,they
willprefertogo.Ithinktheypreferthatlifestylemore.
Female,29yearsold,Arpenivillage
As an elderly woman noted with humor during a conver

sation with the villagers, They are like migrating birds. Its like a
reflextothemassoonasspringarrives,theymigratetoRussia.If
they stay a little longer in the village, they might fall ill. The
interviews conducted with both the youths and their parents and
relatives support this interpretation. Many of these boys have
already lost their affinity for village work and are rejecting the
practicesofvillagelife.
Especiallymyyoungerson,hesays,Dad,dontexpectmeto
liveinthevillage.Whatisthereinthisvillage?Whataboutall
theworkneeded?Therearenoleisurespots.
They go and get used to the easy life, then they come and
dontwanttodoanyvillagework.Theseyoungpeopledont
like anything that has to do with the village. My husband is
likethataswell.Hehasnodesiretoworkwiththecowsorto
do other village work. He doesnt work on that. He spends
thesefewmonthsbeforethemigrationseasonandthengoes
again.
Middleaged men who migrate also tend to solve the

problemofrequiredvillagework,suchasmanagingsmallandlarge
livestockandcuttinggrass,byhiringpaidlaborers.
86
From what Ive noticed, they have difficulty readapting to

villagelifeaftertheyreturn.Theymainlyworkincitiesthere,
afterall.Theycomebackandkeeptheirdistancefromvillage
work.Especiallytheyoungones.
One of the interviewees mentioned that a reason for

working in Russia was to earn enough money to pay for hired
laborerstodothefarmworkneededbytheirfamilies.
Therefore, one consequence of migration is as follows:
although the men who have left for seasonal work consider
themselvestobecloselylinkedtotheirhomecommunities,theyare
oftennotregularlyinformedorconcernedaboutthevillagesissues
because of their periodic migration. The main reason for this
disconnectisthattheirworkandthelivingthattheymakearenot
directly linked to their home community, so they do not have an
economic incentive to be interested in their communitys affairs.
The spend 45 months per year at home and usually see those
months as a period for visiting with the family and resting, after
whichtheymustonceagainleaveforRussiatoearnmoneyfortheir
families.
Themoretheyleave,themoretheirinterestinleavinggrows.
For men like that, family seems to be a lower priority. What
matters is that they make money, which they send home.
They are not interested in anything else. They spend a few
months in the village and get bored. They try to go back as
soonastheycan.
This inclination, on the one hand, and the fact that their
economic interests are linked more closely to Russia than to their
homecommunity,ontheother,meanthatthesemigrantshaveno
economic incentive to participate in the publicand civic life of the
village. Migration facilitates the development of indifference and
87
passivebehaviortowardsthepracticesofpubliclifeinthevillagein
somecommunitymembersataneconomicallyactiveage.However,
the economic capital these migrants bring with them allows the
othermeninthevillagetosecurejobsashiredfarmlaborers.From
the point of view of economic relationships, this phenomenon is
newinthevillage.Itisstilldifficulttomakeanyconclusionsabout
the impact that this shift will have on the public life of the
community. However, it is a fact that this phenomenon leads to a
tendencytowarddifferentiationinlaborrelationsinthecommunity.
Half the men stay in the village. And there is work to do for
thosewhoremain.Theoneswhoremaindopaidworkforthe
familiesofthosewholeave.
Another impact of migration is that due to the prolonged

absence of men in the village, the role of women expands in both
thefamilyandthecommunity.Whereasthemajorityofdecisionsin
the family are made by men when they are present, in their
absence,thewomenareforcedtoplaythisrole.Inthissense,acer
tainchange,thoughnotalargeone,maybetheplantingofaseed
fortheparticipationofwomeninthepracticeofdecisionmaking.
Ingeneral,migrationhasnotplayedamajorroleincommu
nitylifetowardtheformationofnewpublicandcivicpractices.Its
mainpositiveimpactistheinflowofeconomiccapital,whichallows
families to tackle survival issues and the reproduction of social
capital.Because seasonal migrants target the accrual of economic
capital, they do not develop close relationships with the host
community,nordotheyhavetheopportunitytobefullyinvolvedin
thecommunitylifeofthehostsociety.Theylivetheeverydaylives
ofmigrants,andtheyhavecriticizedandrejectedmanyofthehost
societysindividualandpublicpractices.
88
If you compare our village with that place, there are lots of
differences.ButIdontinvolvemyselfinthelifeofpeopleover
there. I know my job. If you try to act like the Russians, you
becomesomeoneelse.ButIdontthinklikethat.Itsmeand
myjobthatiswheremythoughtslie.Iworkforthisplace.
Thus, it is obvious that a large number of the seasonal

migrants, although they spend a large portion of their time in
foreignsurroundings,considertheirreallivestobeathomeandnot
attheirmigrationdestination.Reallife,formanyofthem,isintheir
motherland, while the migration destination is simply a place to
earnmoney.Theydonotshowanyparticularinterestinthevalues
of the host society because the host society interests them only
fromthestandpointofitseconomicvalues,inparticular,themoney
tobemade,andnotitspublicorcivicvalues.
Well,theylikealotofthingsinthelifeoutside,buttheyalso
criticizemanyofthefreedomsthere.Theysaythatitsagood
thingwedonthavethathere.
The migrants are more interested in the reproduction of

theirstatusinthemotherland.Theissueoftheirstatusinthehost
society interests them only to the extent to which it impacts their
abilitytoearnthenecessarymoney.
However, despite this attitude, gaining the experience of
interactingwithsomeonedifferentmeansthatthesemigrantsexpe
rience a certain broadening of horizons and expansion of infor
mation.AlthoughitistruewhentheysaythattheRussianlifestyleis
not acceptable to them, some of themespecially the youth
become used to living in more active surroundings and develop a
criticalattitudetowardstherealitiesoflifeintheirvillage.
89
The impact of seasonal migrants on their village can be

observed more on the level of economic values than on that of
abstract values. Abstract values relating to civil society or
democracyarenotformedbythepracticesofseasonalmigrants.
3.2.TheEverydayLifeandPublicPracticesofMigrantsAfter
TheirReturntoArmenia
CaseStudy2
Toevaluatetheimpactofreturnedmigrantsonpubliclifein
Armenia and, more specifically, on the formation of civil society, a
separate case study was performed. The case consisted of one of
the most significant civic initiatives in recent yearsthe Mashtots
Parkinitiative.ThecivicinitiativearoundMashtotsParkbeganafter
the Yerevan Municipality decided to provide the green zone in a
small park in the middle section of Mashtots Avenue to a private
businessmanforthepurposeofsettingupcommercialkiosksthere.
On the very first day of the kiosks construction, a group of young
peoplebeganademonstrationagainsttheMunicipalitysdecisionto
hand over public space to a private businessman, calling the step
illegal.Theactivistsdemandsweretohaltconstructioninthegreen
zone, stop the cutting of trees and restore the damage performed
to the green zone as well as to punish the officials who had taken
this illegal decision. The civic initiative lasted approximately four
months and ended with the fulfillment of the activists first two
demands.Althoughconstructionendedinthepark,thetreecutting
was stopped, and the green zone was restored, the activists
remained dissatisfied that those responsible were not held
accountable.
As a case study, this civic initiative is of interest to us
because the activist group included returned students and long
90
term migrants. The objective of our case study was to determine

whetherthesereturnedmigrantshadaroleinthecivicinitiative.If
so, then what was that role and what practices did they form and
disseminate?Aspartofthecasestudy,21indepthinterviewsand
11 participant observations were conducted. To gain comparative
research data, the selected group of participants included both
migrant and nonmigrant activists. The observations were
conducted in public spaces to register the practices that they
applied. The conditions during the case study examination were
suitable in the sense that many of the Mashtots Park initiative
activists were participating in other civic initiatives that were
ongoingduringthefieldworkperiod.Observationsoftheseongoing
initiatives allowed us to obtain some qualitative data on the
practicesofthemigrantandnonmigrantactivists.
The data obtained from the interviews with the returned
labor migrants allow a number of conclusions. First, the objectives
of these migrants, in contrast to those of the seasonal labor
migrants, are primarily directed at the formation of cultural, not
economic capital. The practices that they have directed at the
accumulationofculturalcapitalhaveledtofourmainchanges.One
change is the professional knowledge and skill development of
returnedmigrants.Secondisthechangeintheireverydaylivesand
lifestyles. Third is a general growth in their mindsets, values and
generallevelofknowledge.Fourthisagrowthinindependenceand
individual realization through the development of ones own
subjectivityandtheestablishmentofsimilarpractices.
One of the noticeable changes from migration in migrant
activistsisthechangeintheireverydaylives.Inparticular,changes
in spatial, time and even food practices, in some cases, were
consideredtobeofparticularimportance.
91
As a rule, all of the participants in the case study, both

duringtheirtimeatthemigrationdestinationandbackinArmenia,
experienced significant changes in time planning and implemen
tation practices. As components of time management, their
independenceandtheabilitytoplanfarinadvancewereconsidered
corefeatures.
Ofcourse,Ihavealsobecomeindependentwhenitcomesto
time management. I wouldnt say that I organize everything
ideally,butIhavebecomemorefarsighted;Iorganizemyday
withsomelongtermplansinmind,notjustforthenextfew
hours.
Female,23yearsold,Yerevan/USA(Florida)
Among the returnees who were interviewed as part of the

case study, the practices of spatial organization had changed as
well. This change related, first of all, to the arrangement of their
personal space. There were two types of changes noted. The first
changeoccurredwhenareturnedyouth,althoughcontinuingtolive
withhisparentsinthesameapartment,neverthelessensuredthat
his parents participation in his personal space was nearly
eliminated.Thesecondchangeoccurredwhenthereturneedecided
to live on his own, renting an apartment. There were also a few
cases in which a few friends cooperated to rent an apartment.
When choosing a roommate, preference was given based on
commoninterestsandstyles.Letusnotethattheissuehereisnot
somuchlivingaloneasitislivingindependentlyinonesownspace.
Manypeoplelinkthestepofhavingtheirownseparatespacewitha
changeintheirstatus.Thischangeinstatusisusuallydescribedas
becoming an independent and free person. After the return, this
change in status parallels new objectives, which is why having a
personal space in which to live is considered to be important by
many people. That is, space is seen as an important condition for
92
therealizationofpracticesnecessaryforpersonalobjectivesandthe
fulfillment of these objectives. In a broad sense, space becomes a
prerequisite for selfrealization and progress. Here, we once again
return to the observation of M. de Certeau that, to fulfill their
strategies, people need a space in which they can organize their
realization(Certeau1984,36).
Weshouldnotethat,afterreturning,themigrantsviewthe
issueofspatialarrangementinthecontextofinterlinkingindividual
andpublicpractices.
I can say that being abroad had a big impact on me. In one
word, I can say that it is the requirement of freedom, to live
freelyorevenjusttherighttolive,becauseIwaslivingalone
forthosetwoyears.Whenyoucomebacktoyourfamily,itis
much more difficult to arrange ones day because youre
forcedtogivereportsonwhatyoudid.Thatswhyyoustrive
for freedom. You reach for freedom more than for being on
your own. This is also happening on the level of Armenian
society. Having lived in greater tolerance for two years, in a
society having a good attitude displayed by us towards each
other, you come back to your society and deal with issues,
finding it harder to adapt to these things. So you become
perhaps more active because you feel the need for social
change. In that sense, I can say that education encourages
one to become a more active citizen, it creates this desire
within.
Female,24years,Yerevan/Budapest(Hungary)
Their clothing practices differ as well. These returnees

considergoodclothestobethosethatdonotmakeanydemands.
Theseclothesshouldbefreeofhierarchicandformalsymbolsand
should not attract any particular attention. For girls, the idea of
wearing high heels every day is particularly offensive. It is worth
nothing that whereas for seasonal labor migrants, clothing is
93
importanttodisplaystatustolargenumbersofpeople,inthiscase,
comfortandsimplicityaremoreimportant.
The changes in everyday practices also influence an
individualsstyleandleadtothespecificnatureofthepracticeshe
realizes in public and civic life. One of the respondents made an
interestingpointaboutthisinfluence:
Ithasagreatimpact.Allthosesmallthingsaddup,andthey
become your essence as a citizen. Those small things
starting with foodwhich add up and make you a person
who, first of all, has opinions about things. He can do self
analysis and believe in himself. Second, hes a person who is
proactive.Hewantstochangesomething.Hewantseveryone
tolivewell.Youseehowmanybadthingsareoccurringinthe
world, which have not yet happened here, and you want to
stop that from happening. So that, for example, nobody
entersaschoolhereandbangbangbangshootseveryone
dead. You want to understand the reason why such a thing
doesnothappenhere,andyouwanttomaintainthatreason.
Or the fact that they dont understand here that the
governmenthastoservethepeople.Orhowtherighttovote
works abroadthe individualism of it. You want all that to
happen here as well, so that everything becomes good for
everyone.Forpeopletobehappy.
Female,25yearsold,Yerevan/USA
Regardingtheissueofinterpersonalandpublicrelationships,
inthiscase,theroleplayedbycollaborativepracticesbasedonnon
materialandabstractvaluesisobvious.Inparticular,thevaluesthat
form this collaboration consist of freedom, equality, independence
oftheself,tolerance,justiceandfreedomofchoice.
Oneimportanttopicfrequentlymentionedintheinterviews
was truth. It is interesting that this topic was frequently discussed
by all of the migrants. This concern with truth is linked to the fact
thatamigrantconstantlyencountersverycontrastingphenomena,
94
andhestopstoaskwhatisright.Thisprocessisimportantfromthe
point of view of making a choice and deciding. Seasonal migrants
mayhavetheattitudethattheirownlifestylesaretheonlycorrect
option, but in this case, the example followed is one provided by
others. The discourse about truth is mixed here with issues of
toleranceandbecomingacquaintedwithandperceivingdifferences.
The perception that a truth is singular and absolute changes for
manypeopleastheyacquiremoreexperience.Newinterpretations
of truth take shape, as does the concept that truth is changeable
andthattherearemanypathstowardsit.Additionally,peoplecome
to understand that truth is not directed by people with authority
butratherthateachpersoncreatestheirowntruthbasedontheir
need for selfrealization. Truths are individual in nature, and there
are no superior or inferior truths. There are parallel truths, which
are formed by individuals, and thanks to this variety, there are a
rangeofopinions,creatingdiversityandtoleranceofotherstruths,
thatallowforselfrealization.
I understood there that was no such thing as a single truth.
We were always taught that herethat there is an absolute
truththateveryoneisstrivingtowardsthistruth,andweare
underitsinfluence.ButafterstudyinginEurope,Iunderstood
thattherearenoabsoluterightsorwrongs.Everythingisvery
relative and individual. Now, I think that every person or
socialgroupcanapproachthesameissuefromanotherside,
and as a result, they could reach a different truth. And that
taughtmetorespectotherpeoplesopinionsandapproaches.
Female,23yearsold,Yerevan/Hungary(Budapest)
We would also like to focus attention on the fact that the

respondents placed importance not only on the issue of becoming
familiar with civic values and ideas but also, more specifically, on
theissueofdevelopingpracticesandapplyingthem.Thisdifference
isinterestingbecausewearenotjustaddressingembodiedstatesof
95
culturalcapitalbutalsotheadoptionofobjectifiedstates(thestates
of cultural capital have been adopted from P. Bourdieu (Bourdieu
1986,4751)).
There is something in my participation in this demonstration
thatIlearnedinSwedenbecauseourclassmatesconstituteda
group that was a bit radical. They participated in
demonstrationsagainstclimatechange;theyorganizedflash
mobs.IassumethatIgotthebraverytotakeactiononthings
like this from there. Not just the idea, but the very fact that
youhavetodosomethingaboutit.
Female,26yearsold,Yerevan/Sweden,(Stockholm)
Thedevelopmentofpublicpracticesinstudentmigrantswas
alsoinfluencedbysimilarexperiencestheyhadduringtheirstudies.
InAmerica,volunteerismisacommonthingfromtheveryday
thatsomeoneisborn.Itisanobligatorycondition.Ifyouare
at school or at a university, you have to support your
communityaswell;youhavetoworkforit.Theoneyearthat
I studied there, I had a community work goal that I had to
reach.Iwasencouragedtosurpassthatgoal,butIcouldnot
doless.Ithinkthatisverygood.
The interview data show that some students not only

experiencedpublicworkbutalsoparticipatedincivicmovements.
Let me say that I began my activism right while I was still
studying in Canada. Studying outside was good in the sense
thatwhenIwasalone,Iwasfullyresponsibleformyself.You
feelaspecialkindoffreedomatthattime.Andthatsolitude
andindependencegivesyouakindof bravery.Itgivesyoua
kind of strengthyou have a sense of freedom, you dont
know anyone, and you get the feeling that you can do
whatever you want. If I had been here at that same time, I
probablywouldnthavetakensuchaninitiative.Youbecome
moreconfident.
96
Sometimesthesemovementsaddressedstudentissues,and
sometimestheywerebroaderandinvolvedthewholecommunity.
Iwouldparticipateinthemovementsthatwereorganizedby
our university in London. For example, they had raised our
tuitionfeesnaturally,thatimpactedallofus.Igottoknow
the activists there and their protest methods, so I gained
experiencethere.Ialsobegantofollowuponthesituationin
Armenia from afar at that stage; I was in contact with the
peopleIknewhere.
InFrance,IwasgoingtoclassonetimewhenIsawthatthe
tradeunionswereprotestingalongtheway.Iwentwiththose
trade unions to protest for a week. I failed a subject in that
period,butIretooktheexamandpassed.ButIgainedalotof
experience. I am in contact with the French trade unions to
thisday.Thatwasbetterthansimplygoingtoclass.
Female,31yearsold,Yerevan/EnglandandFrance
Not only the public and civic practices adopted during mig
ration but also individual changes that occurred were cited as rea
sons for increased civic activism after returning to Armenia. Indivi
dualchangesareimportantbothwithrespecttothechangesinthe
practicesofeverydaylifeonanindividuallevelandwithrespectto
thegrowthinindependence,thedesireforpersonalfreedom,ideo
logical growth, the acquisition of critical practices and the percep
tionandrealizationofthesubjectivityoftheindividual,allofwhich
occurasaresultoftheawarenessanddefinitionofonessubjectivi
ty.Basedontheresearchdata,thechangesthattakeshapeatanin
dividuallevelleadtothedemandforachangeinonessurroundings.
I returned, and the impression was that I had changed more
than the people who had remained in Armenia. The same
time period had passed both for me and for them. But I had
broughtmorenewthingswithme,andtherewasaproblem
inmatchingthatnoveltywithothernoveltieshere.
Female,23yearsold,Yerevan/USA(Florida)
97
The practice of having a tolerant attitude towards diffe

rences is also cited as an important factor among migrants who
participateincivicmovements.Acquiringskillssuchasthepractices
of dialogue, negotiation, transformation of an argument into a
discourse and a critical interpretation of reality are also important
sideeffectsofthemigrationexperience.
In reality, there werent many who are in the group of
returned students from abroad. But if I were to describe the
oneswhoarethere,thentheyaremoretolerant.Theylisten
toothersmore,theyhaveacultureofdiscussion,theyspeak
based on what was saidthat is, they dont engage in
monologues;theyspeakindialogues.Theyaremoreopento
communicatingwithpeople;theyarefreer.Anditalsoseems
liketheyarebetteratgroupwork.
Female,31yearsold,nonmigrant
To summarize, the primarychanges occurring as a result of

migration that are characteristic of migrants participating in civic
activismarethefollowing:
New and adopted practices among the everyday
practicesoffood,clothing,time,leisureandspace;
Theacquisitionofnewknowledgeandinformation;
An acquaintance with other cultures and the ability to
lookatonesownculturecritically;
The formation of the practice of living alone, repre
sentingaprofoundindividualapproachtothinkinganda
growthinindependence;
The formation of the practice of looking at everything
criticallyandtheskillofcritiquing;
The formation of the ability to accept differences as
possiblealternatives;
Theformationofpracticesandabilitiesfortolerance;
98
Mastery of the practice of dialogue and the ability to

generate opposition while transforming an argument
intoadialogue;
Theformationanddisseminationofdiscoursepractices;
Thetransformationofbackgroundpractices;
Theformationofpracticestogiveimportancetopublic
andsocialissuesandthedesiretopayattentiontothese
issues;and
The formation and dissemination of practices for civic
activismandparticipation.
Regarding the roles played by returned migrants in civic

initiatives, both through their own testimonies and those of non
migrants,thosewhohavehadmigrationexperiencesdonothavea
clear advantage over the rest. Naturally, one cannot deny the role
thatmigrationhasplayedinthereturnedmigrantsinvolvementin
civic activism. However, one should consider that the returned
migrantswhoareinvolvedincivicactivismstoodapartevenbefore
their migration experience with respect to their level of initiative
andtheirdetermination.Thefactthattheyhadmadetheeffortto
gain new skills, change their social status and achieve their
objectivesthroughmigrationisanindicatorthattheywerealready
active.Onerespondentmadethefollowingperceptiveobservation:
Theyarenotreallyactivebecausetheystudiedabroadthey
were active to begin with, which is why they migrated. That
internal effort already suggests that the person is active. So
you cant really say whether he is an activist because he
studiedabroadorwhetherhestudiedabroadbecauseheisan
activeandawareperson.
99
Of the returned migrants, those who participate in the

developmentofcivilsocietyarelargelyreturnedstudentmigrants.
The primary changes that influence the civic behavior of returned
migrants are those changes that occur at an individual level and
foster the development of independent, free individuals. Such
changesinmigrantscanbeobservedbothintermsoftheirpractices
in everyday life and in the public and civic practices that they
continue to exhibit after returning to Armenia. It is significant to
notethatforreturnedmigrantswhoareactivistsandthoseactivists
whohavenotbeenmigrants,thecooperationthatoccursbetween
themappearsontheleveloftheirpracticesofeverydaylife.
Interestingly,IbegantothinklatelyabouthowImetandgot
to know my present activist friends. It turns out that I had
grown close to many of them before this activismsay,
during a bicycle tour, hiking tours, or at other places of
leisure. And I came to the conclusion that there are some
things that unite peoplevalues, preferences, hobbies,
lifestyle in general and so on. I knew almost all of these
activistsbeforeinonewayoranothermaybeIdidntknow
each one personally, but there were places where we would
seeeachother.Itwasasifwewereinthesamecircle,though
atadistance.
Female,31yearsold,nonmigrantactivist
Therearemanypracticesofeverydaylifeandstylethathelp
people to become acquainted with each other and collaborate
toward the realization of personal as well as public issues and
objectives. These practices allow people to appear in social fields
wheretheycanputthesocialandculturalcapitalthattheyearned
duringmigrationintocirculationandgainaroleinthedistribution
andredistributionofcapitalthatoccurindifferentsocialfields.That
activityistheessenceofcivicactivism:thedevelopmentofharmony
between the personal and the public during the processes of
100
distributionandredistributionofcapitalandtherealizationofpublic
intereststhroughtheseprocesses.
In this sense, migration has facilitated growth in the civic
activismofsomemigrantsbecause,thankstomigration,theyhave
developedthosepracticesofeverydaylife,lifestyleandvaluesthat
allow them to appear and position themselves in the field of civic
activism.
3.3.SpecificCharacteristicsofthePracticesofEverydayLife
ofMigrantsAfterTheirReturntoArmenia
TimeAllocationandLeisurePractices
There were some notable changes in time and leisure
practices among the returnees who participated in the study,
especially among students and, to some degree, the longterm
migrants. For the seasonal labor migrants, a considerable number
did not work after their return to Yerevan. Being free of the
timetableimposedbyemployersisseenasoneofthewaystorest
from the migration season. This freedom is the natural lifestyle of
manyoftheseasonallabormigrants,whichischaracterizedbythe
rhythmofrestandidleness.Duringmigration,theylivewithavery
difficult work rhythm, and their return is seen as a change to that
rhythm.Thereturnisatypeoftimetravelastrangetypeoftravel
through the rhythms of time from a taxing world to one where a
manisinchargeofhisowntime.Thischangeintherhythmoftime
leadstochangesinpractices.
There were some changes after coming to Armenia. I dont
wakeupthatearlyanymore;Iguessthatsthemainchange.I
am my own boss here. When I had first left for there, I had
someproblemswiththewaythedaywasorganized.
101
Aftertheirreturn,thetimerhythmsofseasonalmigrantsdo
not synchronize, to a large extent, with those of the community.
According to our observations, this difference leads to the
formation of more internal communication among the migrants
themselves;italsoweakenstheirtiestotherestofthecommunity.
The difference is that they kind of separate themselves from
the rest of the village; they are with each other more. Its
worked out such that I dont have anything in common with
them anymore. We have become very different people. I
communicate and work with people who share more in
commonwithme,whilethemigrantgroupstaystogether.
Itcanbeconcluded,firstofall,thatthetimeallocationand
timetables of returnees are not directed at matching those of the
Armenian workforce. Second, those rhythms are not directed at
participating in common community issues or forming important
publicpractices.Timeallocationandplanningforseasonalmigrants
aftertheirreturncompriseasecondaryconcepttotheextentthat
theydonotevenfavortheformationofspecificblocksoftimefor
workorleisure.
ThereisnosuchthingasaweekendformeinArmenia.Every
dayisaweekendbecauseIdontwork.Itdoesnotmakesense
formetosaythattodayisaMondayoraSaturday.
Asmentionedearlier,withrespecttotimeallocationatthe
migration destination, the students and longterm migrants do
experience significant changes. Dividing time into blocks, planning
through timetables and organizing everyday life through time
rhythms become important to these migrants. Time management
playsanimportantroleintheirintegrationintosocialenvironments
andisimportantintherealizationoftheirstatusandobjectives.The
102
role of time is also important for positioning oneself in the social

field as well as for participating in the redistribution of different
typesofcapitalandinreproductionprocesses.
After their return, one can often see students or longterm
migrants who, after some time spent with the realities of time
allocation in Armenia, at some point reject some of the practices
theygainedwhileabroad.Iftheyweretonotrejectthesepractices,
it would lead to an increased probability of clashes in their
interpersonalandprofessionalrelationships.
I would not go out for a month after I returned. This is
becauseIwouldarrangetomeetsomeoneat,say,10oclock
andIwouldgetacallat11.30sayingthattheymightbe40
minuteslate.Theyresayingthataftertheyrealreadyanhour
and a half late! That is when you go through a real culture
shock.
However,thesereturneesdonotassumeapassiverolewith
regard to defending their timeallocation practices. In particular,
thosewhohaveastrategicpurposeinArmenianeedtoapplytheir
practicesoftimeallocationtoestablishthenecessarystatusforthe
realizationoftheirobjectivesortoassumeapositioninthefieldof
their choice (Here, we use the term field as defined by P.
Bourdieu). This could be a factory, university, or construction site,
amongothers.Withoutselectingafieldandassumingapositionin
it, it would be impossible to participate in the redistribution of
different types of capital or in the processes of reproduction. The
timeallocation practices of the returnee directed at these
objectives are not a simple copy of the experience gained abroad.
However, the timeallocation practices learned abroad play a very
important role. Learning timeallocation practices and applying
theminArmeniawerebothconsideredtobeparticularlyimportant
103
by the interviewed returnees who had been based in Western

countries. This tendency is noticeable in these migrants, who live
activelivesaftertheirreturnandareabletoorganizetheirlivesin
such a way that it allows them to plan their time and work more
effectively. The division of time into blocks for work and rest is
particularlyimportant.Thisdefinitionthattheblockoftimethatis
freefromworkiscalledrestandnotnonworkingisparticularly
interesting. This definition facilitates the allocation of the block of
time after work specifically to rest and not simply to not working.
Formanyofthereturnedstudentsandlongtermmigrants,planning
and organizing their time for leisure are important practices. For
some of them, these practices have become an important
component of their everyday lives. Such changes are notable
particularly among the practices of those who have returned from
Westerncountries.
One thing that has remained from there is the concept of
planningFridaynightsandgoingoutsomewhere.Ialwaystry
toplansomethingforthatday.
After coming to Armenia, our family has also made some
changes to how we plan our leisure time. My husband and I
both make an effort to spend at least one day during the
weekend in a normal way, without being bothered by
everydaytasks.
Female,28yearsold,Gyumri/Switzerland(Aarau)
Sometimesthenewlyacquiredpracticesclashwithconven
tionalobstaclescreatedbytheculturalenvironmentorstereotypes.
However, they are overcome, as a rule, by those people who
considerthemselvesnotmerelyrepresentativesofacertainculture
bearing group but rather individuals who progressively transform
anddeveloptheirculturebyrenovatingit.
104
Thatwasalsoadifferencethat,here,ifagirlisoutsideafter
midnight, at a bar or pub, then its frowned upon. I have
fought against that in Armenia. My family was against it as
well. After returning, I stay out later than before because
thatsahabitthatyoudevelopduring studentlifethatstays
withyou.Here,inArmenia,itmatterswhattimeyougoout.
ButIhavefoughtagainstthatconceptofanacceptabletime,
andIamnowlivingaccordingtomytimeschedule.
Thesenewtypesofleisureareprimarilyorganizedinplaces
where people gather according to personal interests and
preferencesratherthanthroughthemechanismsoffamily,friends
or other kinds of mechanical solidarity(the term mechanical
solidarityistakenfrom.Durkheim(Durkheim1984,3165).Insuch
conditions,everyoneisfreetodecidewhereandinwhatconditions
they would like to pass their time. Friend groups are not closed;
they are open and dynamic. The opposition of individual attitudes
toward time to group norms regulating individual behaviors for
allocating leisure time is also important. The individual attitude
allows one to socialize not just on the basis of the existing time
rhythmsbutalsoonthebasisoftherhythmsarisingfromindividual
approachesandcontinuouschanges.
In Armenia, there are generally suitable conditions for
leisure in Yerevan. In this regard, the issue of leisure for those
returnees who live outside Yerevan is quite complicated. Some of
thesereturneesareunabletoovercometheseshortcomingsintheir
surroundings and unable to perform, in Armenia, the leisure
practices they acquired abroad; these returnees become
disappointedandreverttoleisureoptionswithfamilyandrelatives.
There is very littlego visit people, attend special occasions
by near ones or relatives, birthdays. But it wasnt like in
Germany,wherewetookthekidssomewheredifferentevery
105
week. Where can we take them in Gyumri? When we came

and the children saw it, they were scared. They asked what
yeartheplacewasstuckin.Theywerescaredtoseetherusty
and mangled playground sets. This did not arouse a positive
emotioninthem.Thechildrenwouldsay,Whatisthis?They
tookallofthisbadlyinthebeginning.Butthentheygotused
toit.
Therefore, the change in time practices has led to social

harmony, in general, for the young people living in Yerevan.
However,inotherregions,aftertheyreturn,migrantsusuallyrevert
tothetimepracticesthataremostsuitabletodevelopingharmony
andstrengtheningtiesinthesettingoftheirfamilies.
The interaction with friends remains after the return to
Armenia, but there are few places in Gyumri where one can
go out. Its just a few bars and cafes here. You get tired of
themafterawhile.There,wewouldgotoplaybasketballor
billiards;wewouldgotothegym.Itwasmoreinteresting.
Male,21yearsold,Gyumri/USA(Oklahoma)
PracticesofSpatialArrangement
During migration, the practices of spatial arrangement
among migrants are quite different. For example, for seasonal
migrants, employers play a decisive role in the arrangement of
personal space, and migrants freedom of movement is limited.
Thus,basedprimarilyontheirstatusandobjectives,theirpersonal
initiative in their spatial arrangements during migration is very
minor.
Changesinspatialarrangementsaremuchmorenoticeable
inreturnedstudentsandlongtermmigrantsfrommoredeveloped
Western countries. The primary change related to spatial
arrangement is the arrangement and management of personal
106
space.Formany,spacegainssignificanceintermsoftherealization
of their identity. Two types of practices can be observed in these
migrants after their return. Some of them begin to live separately
from their parents after returning to Armenia, thus continuing the
practice that they had acquired abroad. This trend is especially
observed among those returnees who have formed specific
objectivesandforwhommigrationhasbroughtachangeinstatus.
This tendency is particularly notable for individuals who have
experiencedsubstantialselfgrowth.
The biggest difference is that, upon my return, I understood
thatIreallylikesolitude.Livingwithmyfamilyandallthat
really bothered me. Now I live on my own; I am renting an
apartment, although I have a big family home in Aygedzor.
Butfornow,Iprefertohavemyownplacetowork,thinkand
live.Thatisthebiggestdifference.
Thepracticeoflivingseparatelyaftertheirreturnhasfaced
serious opposition from the parents of these young people. It is
particularly difficult for women to live alone. Some have not been
abletoovercometheresistanceandmustsatisfythemselveswitha
separate room in the same apartment. In such cases, changes are
still noticeable in the everyday organization within the confines of
thisroom.Thesechangesrelatebothtotheorganizationofinternal
spaceintheroomaswellastoleisureandlifestyle.
Now, I sometimes put the mattress of my bed or my cup on
the floor. My mother is surprised by that. But it is more
comfortablethatway.Atthemomentwhenyourebusywith
studies,itdoesntseemtobeofinterestwhetheryourroomis
tidy or not. On the other hand, its more fun to study when
thereissuchamess.
107
It is noteworthy that changes in spatial arrangements,

especially when they relate to unmarried young people living
separately from their parents, are quite rare in Armenia. This
practice is even rarer with respect to women living separately.
These returnees must address not only their own changes of
practicebutalsotheirsurroundings.Thesesurroundingsincludethe
immediate, small family as well as the opinions of friends and
relatives.Thus,changesinspatialpracticeshaveapubliceffectthat
deeplychallengestheindividualsfreedomtolivetheirownlife.Asa
practice, this challenge lies on the border between cultural
stereotypesandtheindependentdevelopmentoftheindividual;it
can be overcome by those individuals who have conquered their
own subjectivity and have thereby defined and overcome their
internal border between self and culture. Culture for these
individuals is redefined; it no longer means a set of mandatory
practices that force the authority of the group upon the individual
and that the individual cannot change. Instead, culture becomes a
setofmodifiablepracticesthataresubjecttochangeinaccordance
withpeoplesneedsoreffortstoselfrealizecreatively.
Thosereturneeswhodonotchangetheirpracticesofspatial
arrangement revert to their old lifestyles. An analysis of the
qualitative data suggests that, in such cases, this state is more
transient. Many of these returnees have a positive recollection of
their spatial arrangement practices during the course of migration
and cite the freedom to organize their personal lives and relation
ships as one primary advantage of their experience. However, it is
clear that they have not reorganized their own status as indepen
dentindividuals.Thelackofclarityintheirstatusformationleadsto
alackofpurposeintermsoftherealizationofnewspatialpractices
becausetheydonotperceivespacetobeanimportantcomponent
in the realization of the individual self and its public presentation.
108
For this reason, personal space is perceived by these returnees as

something that people use for convenience, not something with
which to position oneself for the realization of ones status or
objectives.
Isithereandstudy,forexample.ButIknowforsurethatmy
sister is studying in the next room or someone is watching
television. Over there, you were completely alone, and only
youusedyourspace.Also,youcouldcomehomeatanytime,
for example. Its more problematic here. I could have friends
overforexample,wewouldcomeanddrinkcoffeeandtea,
whichisalmostimpossibletodohere.Ilikethesituationthere
more, I think. I dont know why, but I think the space there
wasmine;Ifeltmuchbetter;IfeltthatitwasmyspaceIcan
dowhateverIwant.Butlivingherewithmyparentsisnottoo
badeither.
TransformationsinClothingPractices
Theresearchdatafromourinterviewssuggestthatthereisa
noticeable change in dress style and practices within a significant
segmentofthemigrantpopulation.Twomaintypesofchangescan
be distinguished. One of these types is characteristic of seasonal
labor migrants. The other type features in students and longterm
migrantswhohavereturnedfromWesterncountries.Youngmenof
a certain age particularly differ in their clothing practices at the
migrationdestination,comparedtomiddleagedandoldermigrants.
Althoughtheseyoungmentendtostaymostlyattheworkplaceor
theirquartersduetothenatureoftheirworkday,whentheyhave
an opportunity to go out into public places, they dress smartly,
accordingtotheirownwording.Theirclothingismostlyblackorin
dark colors, with an emphasis on masculinity and formal style. A
goldchainisconsideredanimportantaccessory.
109
Wedressourownwaythere.Armenianmenwearblack,with
achainaroundtheirneck.Mysonhasone,too.Iftheyhave
nothing else, they have to have a chain, with a cross on
display around their necks. Everyone will know that he is
Armenian.
Male,50yearsold,Arpenivillage/Russia(NizhniyNovgorod)
Based on the description of their dress style from the

migrants who have returned from Russia, it is obvious that they
emphasizetheirstyletodifferentiatethemfromthehostsociety.In
particular,masculinity,formalstyleandsolidityareemphasizedas
a means to stress ones own honor through ones clothes. Some
times,aspecialemphasisisplacedontheimportanceofclothingas
anindicatorthatapersondeservesrespect.
If I talk about clothing, it might sound a bit rude to say this,
but the men there dress a bit like girls. There are these new
trousers in fashion, hanging loose; they wear hoods and
sneakers.NormalCaucasianmendressnormallythere,solidly.
When they return, they continue to differ from their

surroundings. They mostly wear more expensive clothes. That is
obvious to the extent that it is also mentioned in interviews with
othercommunitymembersandnotjustinthosewithmigrants.
My son dresses very well now. What did he wear before he
left? Just regular clothes. But now he dresses very well. His
tasteinclothesisthesameithasntchanged,buthisclothes
aremuchbetter.
Such changes are also noticeable in the clothing of a mig

rants family members, especially the younger ones and the child
ren.
110
Changesinclothingarealsonoticeableinstudentsandlong
term migrants. Particularly for migrants who have returned from
Western countries, one notices a preference not necessarily for
clothingthatisexpensivebut,instead,clothingthatiscomfortable.
Some consider clothing to be important for freeing oneself from
grouptasteandemphasizingpersonalstyle.
Inthiscase,peopleprefercomfort.Forme,thatisofgreater
value than, for example, sashaying on high heels to attract
somebodys attention. In my opinion, for example, the
Armenianstylegirlisnothonest.Sheisnotcomfortablein
highheels,butshewearsthembecausethatisthewaysheis
supposed to dress to be considered pretty and desired by
many. People who dress comfortably are more honest with
themselves,firstofall,withregardtotheirpreferencesthey
do what they like. Until we can be honest with ourselves, I
dontthinkwecanchangeanything.
The migrants who have changed their style note that, after
returning, they encountered some initial difficulties with the
comments made by people in their environment but that they
overcamethesecommentswithtime.
Another noticeable change in clothing practices is that,
abroad,itisnotjustabroadeningofhorizonswithregardtoclothes
andstyles;instead,atransformationoccursinthewaythatclothing
isperceivedasanindicatorofpublicpresentation.
Forexample,nowIdontjustlookathowsmartastudentis
but also how he dresses. I have begun to pay attention to
many things that I was not looking at earlier. Wearing high
heels,forexample,isanindicatorformetosomeextentthat
tells me a bit about that students values and lifestyle. Or
havingtheirnailspolishedandsoon.
111
Oneofthemosttangibleimpactsofmigrationonclothingis
the introduction to different and diverse styles and a growing
familiarization with them. Moreover, this impact can be observed
both in students and longterm migrants from Western countries
andinseasonallabormigrants.
There were different kinds of young people there. We didnt
talktothem.Wedidntknowwhatkindofpeopletheywere.
There, we werent interested in what someone was wearing
orwhatcolortheirhairwasdyed.Nobodywouldcareabout
how we were dressed either. We could do what we wanted.
Butwhentheyseesomeonelikethathere,theylaughathim.
Itwouldbegoodifthingswereasfreehereastheyarethere.
Clothing is an important means of recognition, as migrants

learn while living in host societies, and their practice of tolerance
towards clothing styles is preserved and brought back to Armenia.
Evenifthemigrantdoesnotchangehisownstyle,theformationof
tolerancetowardsdifferentstylesisveryimportant.Theformation
ofpracticesoftolerancetowardschangesinclothingandstylealso
facilitatesthespreadoftolerancetowardsotherpracticesandother
aspectsoflife.
FoodrelatedPracticesafterReturning
Changesinfoodrelatedpracticesareprimarilynoticeablein
returnees from Western countries. As our research data suggest,
the changes to the food that seasonal labor migrants eat during
their migration experience are very insignificant. Therefore, there
are also few changes after their return. One family member of a
seasonallabormigrantinterpretedthequestionaboutfoodchanges
in an interesting way, noting that the food that seasonal migrants
112
eatduringmigrationissomonotonousthatitwouldnotbepossible
forthemtobringbackanythingnewwiththem.
What did they eat in Russia, anyway, that one can expect
themtobring?Didnttheyjusteatpasta?
Other practices related to food do not change, either. We

asked whether those migrants who cooked their own food while
abroadcontinuedtodosoaftertheirreturntoArmenia.Allofthe
answers were negative. Cooking food is considered a womans job
in the Armenian setting, so the men reject this practice acquired
duringmigrationaftertheirreturn.
Thesituationisquitedifferentamongmanyofthestudents
and longterm migrants from Western countries. Naturally, after
their return to Armenia, they all return to a diet of predominantly
Armenianfood.However,somenuancedchangesarenoticeablein
many of these migrants behavior. These changes are observed in
food preferences and in eating practices. Many of these migrants
notedthatafterreturning,theyhadmaintainedcertainfooditems
intheirdiet.Theprimarychangeinvolvedeatingmorevegetables.
I began to eat lots of vegetables. Spinach, pumpkin, squash,
cabbages,broccoli,forexample.Andothervegetables.Ididnt
payattentiontothatearlier.
Female,26yearsold,Yerevan/USA(Maryland)
Some of the returnees maintain the habit of eating some

dishesthatarespecifictotheirhostsocieties.
Friedcheeseisacommonthingthere.Mywifemakesithere
too,thoughnottoooften.
In addition to food items, these migrants also display

changes in eating practices. Some of them apply the practice of
eatingoutsidethehomemoreoften,inonefoodestablishmentor
113
another.Thischangeisespeciallytrueofyouths,whopreviouslyate
mainlyathomebeforeleavingbutwhooftenprefertoeatoutside
thehomeaftertheirreturn.Asarule,theyalsobegintopaymore
attentiontothequalityoffoodanditshealthproperties.
Anotherimportantchangeinpracticeinvolvesthespreadof
anyacquirednoveltiesintheirsurroundings.
Itellmyfriendsthatthe dayaftertomorrow,weregoing to
eat, say, eggs boiled in vinegar. And I do this so that my
friends come and see that such a dish also exists. Nobody
servesthathere.ItsaGermanvillagerecipe.
In one exceptional case, a migrant converted his rich

experienceinthefoodsectorintoabusiness,thustryingtoshareit
withothers.
Yes,Iamteachingeveryonetoeathere.Myrestaurantisproof
ofthat.YouwillfindveryfewArmenianitemsinthemenuhere.
Many people have second thoughts about trying something.
Then,weconvincethem;theytryitandlikeitalot.Myfamily,
especiallymysister,likestoeat.Andtheyliketotrynewthings.
There was a party at my sisters place the other day, for
example,andtherewasntasingleArmeniandishonthetable.
Everyonewasverysurprised,buttheylikeditalot.
Female,30yearsold,Yerevan/USA(Chicago)
Individual,InterpersonalandPublicPractices
Ourresearchdatasuggestthattransformationsinindividual
andpublicpracticesareseeninallgroupsofmigrants.Thesetrans
formationsare,ofcourse,differentinnature.Forexample,alarge
number of the seasonal labor migrants mentioned the fact that
althoughmigrationdidnotchangetheirlifestyle,thechangeofsur
roundings allowed many of them to expand their perception and
114
knowledgeofparticularphenomenaandtobroadentheirhorizons
ingeneral.
Livingabroadchangedalotofthingswithinme.Iusedtolook
atmenandwomendifferentlybefore.Ihaddifferentpercep
tionsofpeople.ButnowIhavechangedcompletely.
On the list of new practices that they have acquired as a

resultoftheirmovement,migrantsgiveparticularsignificancetoa
range of communication practices. Migrants are individuals who,
during their travels, meet all types of new people and see new
things as well as familiar and unfamiliar signs, which present both
familiarandunfamiliarfacts.Inthisregard,itisthenatureofcom
munication that leaves a deep impact on the changes in these
migrantspractices.
Whatmakesmedifferentfromothermigrantlaborersisthat
they are on the construction site every day for eight months
and then theyre in their rooms. I go out and talk to the
people.Aftertalkingtoalotofdifferentpeople,Ihavecome
totheconclusionthatwehavealongwaytogrow.
Male,28yearsold,Gyumri/Russia(Anapa)
In particular, in the interviews with students and longterm

migrants, there was often mention of the impact of migration on
their individual characteristics. Very often, these migrants referred
to changes in the characteristics that relate to practices in inter
personal relations. The willingness to establish a relationship with
someone, to be open, to make someones acquaintance, to intro
duce oneself, to listen to and understand others opinions and to
presentoneselfwereallconsideredtobeimportant.Itisimportant
that these characteristics, developed during the migration period,
were maintained upon the migrants return to Armenia. The de
velopment of these individual characteristics has a positive impact
115
not only on interpersonal relationships but also on participation in

publiclife.
Ihavebecomemoreopenlycommunicativesincemyreturnto
Armenia.InGyumri,naturally,therearesometimesproblems
related to mindset. I have also noticed that my thinking and
my opinions sometimes get to my friends and my
surroundings. Most of my friends feel that way too. I have
become relatively active and that is also the American
influenceonme.Also,Ihavebeguntoimplementprojectson
theenvironmentatmyuniversity.
Male,21yearsold,Gyumri/USA(Orlando)
One important concern was that being open in Armenia

couldleadtointerpersonaldifficultiesbecausethistypeofapproach
doesnotleadtoanequivalentresponseamongindividualswhoare
lessopenminded.
First, lets start from the fact that I have noticed changes
within myself. I have probably become more of a realist; I
have grown stronger. But interacting with people here has
becomemoredifficultbecauseIliketospeakfreelyandtobe
honest.Peopleheredontreallylikethisallthatmuch.Iguess
theyconsideritrude.
Female,33yearsold,Yerevan/Austria(Graz)
IntheinterviewswithreturneesfromtheWest,someofthe
acquired characteristics that were noted included realism,
rationalism and pragmatism. In particular, the development of the
abilitiestosetobjectives,planactivities,createatimetableandthen
interactwithpeopleaccordinglywasnoted.
The ways and effectiveness of reaching my objectives
increasedwithinme.Ibegantounderstandmoreclearlywhat
I specifically wanted. I have interacted with Germans the
most, and I have learned from them the ability to plan our
workstepbystep,correctlyassessingtheworktobedoneand
dividing it according to a real understanding of the time
116
neededandtheload.Peopleheretakeonalotofthingsand
then fail to deliver. First, one can do those large things in
small steps. That is precisely the skill of assessing correctly
and dividing into parts. In that sense, I have really had an
education. I have also changed in some issues related to the
ethicsofinterpersonalrelations.
This change is related not only to the practices of setting

objectivesatworkandplanninghowtoreachthembutalsotothe
practices of being determined in everyday life and being realistic
anddiligentwhensolvingproblems.
Before, I knew what I wanted, but I didnt know how to get
there.Now,itiscleartomehowonecanplansomethingand
achieveit,whatstepsIhavetotaketogetwhatIwant.
Female,30yearsold,Yerevan/USA(Illinois)
It is significant that these changes are considered important

notonlyasskillsbutalsoaspracticesforeverydaylife.Whenaskillis
used on a daily basis, it becomes a practice. The transformation of
skills to practices is important because thenas visible examples
theynotonlyspreadbutalsoinfluenceeverydaylifeand,inabroader
sense, facilitate the formation of new practices. For example, using
these identified skills leads to the development of corresponding
practices, and these practices then become decisive for the given
individual in his interpersonal and public relationships. In everyday
life, these practices are not always appropriately perceived and ac
cepted. In some cases, upon returning to Armenia, these practices
clashwithdeeprootedpractices,andtheyarenotalwaysmaintained.
There were a lot of changes after I returned to Armenia. It
was very difficult for me because planning had been so easy
there. There is a way to do everything; you have options.
Here,Ididntevenknowthewaytofindajob.
Female,28yearsold,Gyumri/Switzerland(Aarau)
117
Such clashes are caused by the deeprooted differences

betweenthenewpracticesandthoseincirculation.Themigrant,as
a person in movement, develops within himself the practice of
perceivingnoveltiesandconstantlychanging.Asaspecificpractice,
this is more common of young migrants returning from Western
countries. The primary cause of the clash is the fact that this
practice has developed within him during migration, but these
practices have not arisen in his home surroundings. In such
situations,thepracticeoffacingandtoleratingthatwhichposesan
alternativeoradifferenceisalsoimportant.Themigrant,presenting
himself as someone different in another setting and experiencing
tolerance, has accepted and adopted this practice. After returning
to Armenia, he is no longer just a user of that practice but also
beginstodemanditofothers.Hebeginstodemandanewpractice
inthefieldsofinterpersonalandsocialrelationships.Usually,when
such a demand is formed, individuals who accept these practices
arise,andtheformationofanewtypeofinterpersonalrelationship
practices develops. These are precedents to the formation of new
interpersonal relationships; underlying the causes of these
precedentsisdissatisfactionwiththeexistingpracticesonthepart
ofthemigrantswhohavebroughtnewpracticeswiththem.
Eversincemyreturnandtothisday,Iamunabletoplanmy
everyday life. I had gotten used to a different way of doing
thingsthere,andtobehonest,itwasverydifficultformeto
reintegrate here. I went through culture shock here.
Interestingly, it was very difficult in both directions. First, it
seemed like the environment that I had left was not very
happy to see me back, simply because they did not see
someone likeminded in me. I had become something of an
alientothemandalotoftieswerelost.Andnow,afterabout
six months, I see that there were probably objective reasons
forthis.Youcome,andyouaredissatisfied.Thesepeoplehave
118
this; they are not looking for an alternative, and they are
alreadyusedtowhattheyhave.Youcomefromoutside,and
you dont want to live in the old waysyou want to change
something. And that something that you want to change is
linkedtoyoursurroundings.TheonlyplacewhereIreclaimed
thatisatcollege.Andthatisduetotheunderstandingofone
person, whoeven though he may not share my opinion
does not think that just because I am doing something with
which he does not agree that I am going against him
personally.HeunderstandsthatIsimplythinkdifferently,and
thatisthereasonforthis.
Someofthepracticesthatmigrantsconsiderimportantare
cognitive practices, which relate to both interpersonal and public
practices. For cognitive practices, the primary difference is that
uponreturning,thebearersofthesepracticesseektocomprehend
any local practices that that they do not understand, and they do
notrejectthem.
You know what it was like: they did not prioritize their
relatives.Theywerentlikeus.Theywouldlookandseewhat
kindofpersonyouwere.Ifyouwereagoodperson,anormal
guy,thentheywouldtalktoyou.Theywouldntthinkthatthis
one is my brother, this one is my sisterthey would treat
everyoneequally.Theyrenotlikeus,thewaywethinkabout
helpingourmother,ourrelativeorourfriend.
If he was a minister, he was the same person; if he was a
regular guy, he was the same person. The mayor himself
would come and say that this bin is for paper, this is for
plastic. We would be surprisedhe was the mayor, but he
wouldcomepersonallyonhisbicycletocheckthegarbage.He
wasaregularguy.Heworeregularclothes,hedidnotstand
out.
119
Among many migrants, the nature of cognitive practices

leadstoaseriesofotherpractices.Inparticular,itleadstotheprac
ticesofcriticism,toleranceandunderstandingoftheimportanceof
alternatives.
Theleveloftolerancehereisverylow.Theretheyhadahigh
level of tolerance, and I learned from them, to some extent.
There was no culture of equality here. Now there are some
social movements that are trying to get this message out to
thepublicthateveryoneisequal.
Many of the migrants noted that they had brought, to
Armenia from abroad, the practice of tolerantly acquainting
themselves with individuals who are different from them. In the
interviews,tolerancewasalsoconsideredtobeimportantfromthe
pointofviewoffindingalternatives.Inthiscontext,thepracticesof
not just tolerating someone else but also appreciating ones own
sidearenoteworthy.
Migration taught me appreciation. People here complain a
lot, and if I hadnt gone away, I might have also not
appreciatedwhatwehavehere.ButbecauseIhaveseenwhat
isoutsidewithmyowneyesandIhavecometotheconclusion
thatmanythingstherearenotasniceastheyareimagined,I
have begun to appreciate what we have here. For example,
peoplecomplainherethattheirrelativessticktheirnosesinto
their business; they complain of having too much attention
focusedonthem.Buttheydontknowthatattheotherend,
thereiscoldness,indifference,whichisevenworse.
Female,30yearsold,Yerevan/USA(Illinois)
Thisisaveryinterestinganddelicatepointthatwasraisedin
a number of interviews with migrants. This point allows us to
conclude that the movement practices of migrants allow them to
take a critical look at their own practices and to change
interpretationsandevaluationsthathadbecomeroutine.Wehave
120
categorizedthesepracticesasnew,formedasaresultofmovement
practices,andwehavecalledthemreflexivepractices.
Practices aimed at realizing the individual self or ones
interestswerealsonotedasanovelty.
I understood something very important there: that if you
reallylikesomething,youhavetomakeitareality.Ithought
thatIandthepeoplearoundmeinArmenialiveinourdreams
and never try to make those dreams a reality. I understood
that if people want something, they should do it. Here our
lives consist of work, home and television. In Sweden, I
understoodthatlifecanbemuchmorediverse.
It is noteworthy that, parallel to practices aiming at the

realization of personal interests, student migrants in particular
mentioned growth in their interest in civic movements. Some of
them, during their university experiences, had been involved in
various actions or events that form a part of student life abroad.
Those who also participated in civic movements continued this
practice upon their return to Armenia. However, some of them
began their civic activism only after their return to Armenia.
Therefore, civic activism is noticeable, particularly among those
peoplewhohaveexperiencedachangeinselfrealizationpractices,
and their formation and realization as subjects were important
factorsthatcontributedtothischange.
Here, I understood that I can seek and find myself in many,
manydifferentareas.NowIamdoingalotofdifferentthings
outside my main area of specialization. I am doing
photography, writing, translating. I translated some of
Bukovskysworkrecently.Iamworkingonmyblog.Iamquite
active on Facebook. I have also begun to participate in civic
movements.
121
3.4.FormsofCapitalandtheRepresentationofIdentity
Migrants are characterized by their specific practices of
movement. Each experience of movement leaves a trace of its
impact. One of the important components of this trace is the
awareness and perception of these practices by people who are
differentfromthemigrant.Theattitudetowardssomeonedifferent
in any society as well as awareness and perceptions about that
personplayanimportantroleinpubliclife.Evenifthesereturnees
donotformnewpractices,theyfacilitatetheformationofasuitable
environment for those practices. This is particularly true of those
returned migrants whose movement in the host society was not
limited and who have had a rich experience, communicated with
people and observed multiple practices. These migrants have
undergoneacognitiveexpansion.
Another important characteristic of migrants is that they
have experienced familiarization with another culture. That expe
riencecomprisestheformationofvariouscognitivepractices.Some
ofthesepracticeshavebeenrejecting,oppositionist,acceptingand
recognizingortolerant.
Before leaving, I had no idea about how to interact with
foreigners. We were brought up differently. But I have
acquired some skills over the years which allow me to
communicate with people if I want to. These are mainly
Russians, Tatars, Chechens, Dagestanis, Mordvins and other
different ethnicities. There are hundreds of ethnic and
nationalgroupsinRussia.
Even when the returnees state that they have not changed
during the course of migration, they usually mean that their
everyday practices have remained unchanged. However, when we
122
examinethematerialfromtheindepthinterviews,weseethatthis
claim is not usually accurate. The returnees have, naturally, gone
through some changes: first, they have changed at the knowledge
level. Migrants usually do not define a change in knowledge as a
changebecause,byitsnature,itoccursmostlyinthebackground.It
is knowledge about everyday life and practices that is new or
unknowntothemigrantknowledgethat,evenifitdoesnotresult
in the given practice being adopted by the migrant, changes his
attitudetowardsthatpractice.Thatknowledgefacilitatesachange
inhisjudgmentpracticeswithregardtophenomenaorissuesthat
are unknown to him. In some cases, these judgment practices still
remainpracticesofopposition.However,withmoreexperience,the
cognitive practices themselves change. Some migrants notice that
theycanseetheissuefromanotherangle,andtheyunderstandthat
thetruthandthepracticesitleadstocanbeverydifferent.Itisnot
always the case that this alternative leads the migrant to feel that
hisownversionwaswrong.Thisunderstandingleadstoapracticeof
perceivingthatisdifferentinthecontextofdiversityandfacilitiesa
tolerantapproachtotheunfamiliarornew.Migrationmodifiesthe
knowledge base of the migrant and makes him more receptive.
These migrants understand quite clearly that some things are
different from their native versions at home and that some things
are completely absent in their native approach. Therefore,
migrationmakespeoplemoretoleranttowardsdifference,andeven
if the migrant does not embrace and incorporate that difference
into his everyday life, he nevertheless becomes more receptive
towardstheunfamiliarandnew.Byitsnature,thisphenomenonis
not in the foreground and is not noticed immediately; it occurs in
the background. Sometimes, this shift is reflected in what the
migrants say. They express thoughts that are also present in the
actions that they take; these thoughts come into being when the
123
action is spoken about, and through these actions, the migrants

formbackgroundpractices.Thesepracticesarespeechactionsand
areverysimilartothephenomenon,discussedofteninthestudyof
practices, that researchers call background (Wittgenshtein 1980,
97), background expectancies (Garfinkel 2011, 54), background
practices (Searle 1980, 227) or background knowledge, which all
describe knowledge that, in itself, is already a practice. In some
cases,thatknowledgeispresentedthroughspeech.Thesetypesof
speech change everyday life, leading to discourses on criticism,
tolerance,difference,alternatives,novelties,publicandcivictopics,
which change peoples positions, relationships and surroundings.
Thesebackgroundpracticesarehiddeninnaturebecausetheyare
very difficult to notice. However, these types of speech are also
practices. Such practices among returned migrants can be called
practices of tolerance towards difference. Tolerance is something
thatisnotnoticedatfirstglancebecauseitdoesnottendtopresent
itself materially and thus does not influence or change anything.
However,itformsanewpracticethat,afterappearinginapersons
everydaybehavior,changesthenatureoftherelationshipbetween
people and social institutions. This practice changes aggressive
behavior and the rejection of difference, thus creating a favorable
background for the formation and adoption of new practices in
society.Thispracticeformsasaresultofinaction,andthisinaction
paradoxically transforms into action through the practice of
tolerance.
Inadditiontothischange,anothernoticeablemanifestation
ofchangeinbackgroundpracticesoccurs:changesonanindividual
level that do not aim at the rejection or opposition of current
practices but rather at the expansion of the range of practices.
These practices usually own their right to exist by virtue of not
having any major conflict with current practices or ethnocultural
124
stereotypes,suchasanewitemofclothing,anewdish,anewway
toservefood,anewsong,anewwaytoorganizegatherings,anew
waytoarrangespace,timeorleisurepractices,avehiclemodel,or
anapproachtomanwomaninteractions.Therefore,somemigrants,
throughtheireverydaybehavior,clothing,foodorleisureactivities,
change the monotony of background practices in Armenia. Thanks
tothischange,thebackgroundtendstobecomemorediverse.The
developmentofdiversityinbackgroundpracticesleadstoagrowth
of general tolerance in society. In some respects, diversity also
facilitates the transformation of basic practices in society and, in
general,leadstoabroadeningofsocietysculturalhorizons.
Another important phenomenon is the introduction of the
practice of criticism by migrants. Critical practices manifest
differently,startingfromthedevelopmentofdiscoursepracticesto
various types of action. Discourse practices are important because
they lead to discussions and critical approaches towards the main
practices.Discoursepracticesareoftenaimedatcriticizingthesole
truthsacceptedbyallaswellasthestereotypesthatdictatemoral
and esthetic norms while simultaneously forming alternative
practices. This critical attitude leads to the development of
discourse practices, which spread through wider circles and
facilitate the formation of opinions. These opinions sometimes
clash,andawarenessgrowsatthatmoment,sometimesleadingto
familiarityandevenacceptance.
In Armenia, we can distinguish several types of migrants
basedontheirimpactoneverydaylifeandchanges:
Migrants who have expanded knowledge of a different
culture or practices and who approach difference with
tolerance;
Migrants whose practices have somewhat changed at
theirmigrationdestination;althoughtheyhaverejected
125
someofthesechangesaftertheirreturn,theyneverthe
lessformcriticalattitudestowardslocalpractices;and
Migrants who have adopted a range of everyday
practices and have continued to apply them after their
returnthese practices refer, in particular, to food,
clothing, leisure, time and space organization, interper
sonalrelationshipsandpublicandcivicpractices.
Regardingpractices,weidentifythefollowingtypes.
Thoserejectedbymigrantsupontheirreturn.
Thoseretainedafterthereturn.
Those that develop after the migration experience and
that do not reproduce practices acquired during migra
tionbutarebaseduponthem.
AfterreturningtoArmenia,migrantsrejectpracticesthatare
not,intheiropinion,mandatoryordonotservea)thereproduction
oftheirstatusinArmeniaorb)theachievementoftheirobjectives
or solutions to their problems in Armenia. Naturally, the new
practices that are retained or developed are those that serve the
purposesofstatusreproductionorobjectiverealization.
As mentioned above, some practices are applied during
migration but are then stopped suddenly upon return to Armenia.
Thissuddenstopismainlylinkedtoachangeinthemigrantsstatus
orobjectivesafterhisreturn.Somestatusesconflictwithparticular
practices and cannot continue after the migrants return. For
example, the status of a man in Armenian society rules out the
practices of cooking food at home, washing the dishes, sweeping
the apartment floor and so on. The application of these migrant
practices might lead to a decline in the mans status. However,
therearemanycasesintheresearchmaterialwherethemigrants
126
status abroad did not rule out the application of new practices in
thehostcountry.Caseswerenotedinwhichmigrantmencookedor
washedothersdishes.Therewerealsocasesinwhichthehusband
helpedhiswifewithdomesticchores,childcareandsoon.Because
thesepracticesdonotcauseadeclineinthemansstatusinforeign
surroundings,ineitherthelargerpublicsettingorthefamilysetting,
theyareconsideredacceptabletosomepeople.
Thosemigrantswhoredefinetheirstatusorobjectivesafter
returning sometimes continue the practices they adopted during
migration or develop new ones. Some examples of new practices
developed by seasonal migrants include the dissemination of
practices aimed at transforming economic capital to social capital,
such as buying a foreign car with the money accumulated during
monthsofworkanddrivingitdownthestreetorthroughthevillage
to attract attentionRegarding the issue of changing status, the
primary factors that influence a change of status are the develop
mentofidentityanditsreform.Ifmigrationdoesnotinfluencethe
formationofidentity,thenonesstatusandobjectivesrarelychange
as a result. However, as a rule, migration influences the formation
of identity in one way or another. The component of a guest
workerorgasterbeiterappearsintheidentityofseasonalmigrants.
GasterbeiterisaGermantermforguestworkerthatoriginatedin
WestGermany(BRD)inthe1960sand1970s,whenaformalguest
workerprogramexisted.ThetermusedinArmeniankhopanchi
comes from the Soviet era and was the name given to seasonal
workers who traveled from Armenia to Russia during that period
(Galstyan2006,17).Inthecaseofsomestudents,anidentityasan
independent individual, a professional with an international
qualification,anexpert,oracitizendevelops.
127
One important issue regulating the impact of returned

migrantsonpublicpracticesconsistsofthetypesofcapitalthatthey
bringwiththemtoArmenia.
Student migrants bring two types of cultural capital with
them when they return to Armenia. One type consists of their
professionalknowledge.Theotherconsistsofknowledgetheyhave
about everyday life, interpersonal relationships, public life and
various types of abstract values. The growth that has occurred at
theindividuallevelandthedevelopmentofsubjectivitycanalsobe
consideredmanifestationsofculturalcapital.
After the migrants return, cultural capital is put into
circulationandreproduced.Byitsnature,afterculturalcapitalisput
into circulation, it can lead to an increase in the participation and
efficiency of returned students in the redistribution of different
types of capital. The cultural capital imported into Armenia in the
formofprofessionalknowledgeisusuallyusedbythesereturneesin
fields that are suitable for the distribution and redistribution of
economic capital. These fields are very diverse and include
telecommunications,hightech,highereducation,managementand
marketing.TheculturalcapitalbroughtintoArmeniaintheformof
knowledge related to public life is usually invested in the
distribution of social capital; this process is attracting increased
interest that identifies returnees in civil society as a field for the
distribution of social capital. To participate in the distribution
processes for social capital, these returnees seek to position
themselvesinthisfield,usingandrealizingtheculturalcapitalthey
broughtwiththemintheformofknowledgeandpracticesrelated
to public life. These migrants are interested in establishing and
developingcivilsocietyasaspecialfieldforthedistributionofsocial
capitalbecausecivilsocietyallowsthemtoputtheirculturalcapital
intocirculationandestablishtheirstatus.
128
However, some returnees develop their status based on

changesthathaveoccurredwithintheiridentity.Infact,theneedto
develop a status grows from the changes in identity that occur
duringmigrationand,insomecases,thedesiretorealizethisnewly
formedidentity.Inthissituation,establishingthenewstatusinthe
social field is important: the migrant must participate in social
capital distribution and therefore must position himself in the
corresponding social field. The civic field is one such field. Thus,
statusinasocialfieldisonewayfortheindividualtoguaranteehis
position.Itisapositiontopresentorrepresenthisidentity,andhis
practicesarethemeanstopresentthem.
To realize his status, a seasonal migrant does not perceive
the need to usecivil society asa field for thedistribution of social
capital. His preferred field is his district, his village or the
environmentofhiscompatriotsandfriends.Toreproducehissocial
capital, he does not invest the cultural capital that he may have
acquiredduringhismigration;instead,heinvestshisnewlyacquired
economiccapital.
Thespecificityoftheseasonalmigrantliesinhisinvestment
of economic capital in Armenia to reproduce his status. Thanks to
this investment, he gains material value of indicative significance,
thepresentationorrepresentationpracticesofwhichdonotplaya
particularly important role in the development of civil society. For
students, meanwhile, the values of indicative significance are
abstract in nature, and their presentation practices facilitate the
developmentofcivilsociety.
Longterm migrant returnees differ from both seasonal and
student migrants. They do have to reproduce their status through
annuallabormigration,astheseasonalmigrantsdo.Theirissueisto
positionthemselvesintheeconomicmarketsofArmeniaaftertheir
return. For this reason, they invest their economic capital in
129
establishing a small or medium enterprise. If they do not have

enough economic capital, they try to gain employment. Although
these migrants perceive the valuesand some practices of the host
societyduringtheirmigrationexperience,theyneverthelessdonot
undergo any profound changes of identity. For this reason, these
longterm migrants do not experience any issues related to social
transformation. However, it is important to note that with their
background knowledge and their level of information about
Western practices, particularly background practices, they
sometimes display a suitable background in their microsocieties
through the manifestation of discourse and critical practices. For
example,theselongtermmigrantsmaynotpersonallyparticipatein
civic movements, but they may express a positive opinion about
thesemovementsintheirsurroundings.
The qualitative data from this study indicate that changes
occurring on an individual level play an important role in the
dissemination of practices suitable for the development of civil
society. Migration, especially at a young age, allows a migrant to
overcomeandconquertheborderofcultureandentertheterritory
oftheindividualself.Thismovementwithinanindividualalsoleads
toaradicalchangeinhispositioningintermsoftherelationshiphe
haswiththehostsociety.Itisnotthedifferencebetweenhimand
theforeignculturethatplaysanimportantroleherebutratherthe
differences in practices. The practices of drawing borders change.
When the migrant forms and presents his individuality as a
representativeofanethnicgroup,healsoremainsintheterritoryof
hisculturethroughhispractices,andhisindividualselfremainson
thatsideoftheborder.Hisidentityisformedbyhiscultureandnot
byhimselfasanindividual.However,whenheconquerstheborder
betweenhiscultureandhisindividualityandenterstheterritoryof
his individual self, he begins to place more importance on the
130
presentation of his self in the host society than on that of his

culture.Heconquerstheobstaclescreatedbytheperceivedsanctity
ofhisculture.Thus,atthelevelofeverydaylife,theborderbetween
himandthehostsocietyshiftsfromasolidandarduousbordertoa
border between practices that is drawn by the individual himself,
nothisculture.
These are profound and qualitative transformations that
occurandinfluencethecivicbehaviorofreturnees.Thosereturnees
who have experienced such profound transformations oppose the
dailystereotypicalpracticesdictatedbyculturewithindividualand
civic practices. They criticize the official practices of authority and
presentanddefendtheuseofcivicpracticesasanalternative.
131
Conclusions
Insummary,migrationhasanotableimpactontransforma
tionsinArmeniassocialprocesses.Transformationsintheeveryday
practices of migrants play a significant role in this impact. These
transformations are reflected in spheres of everyday life such as
clothing, food, space and time management, leisure and interper
sonalrelationshippractices.Changesalsotakeplaceinthepractice
ofparticipationinciviclife.Inthissense,thetransformationofcivic
practicesisparticularlyimportant.
Civicpracticesareespeciallyinfluentialfortheestablishment
of civil society in fields such as civic initiatives aimed at realizing
public good. These practices also facilitate the development of
traditions of participatory democracy. The case study we analyzed
shows that, thanks to the civic practices that were utilized, the
activerepresentativesofcivilsocietyweresuccessfulintheirprotest
against the unilateral decision of the municipal authorities to
transformapublicgreenspaceinYerevanintoacommercialzone.
These activists influenced the municipal and central authorities,
forcing them to include citizens opinions in their decisionmaking
process. Armenias authorities are still quite conservative and
authoritarian in this regard. They often serve as the bearers of
Soviet authoritarian and hierarchical ruling traditions. The
importance of civic and social practices lies in the fact that they
presentthepublicwithanalternativetotheauthoritiespractices.
Through these civic movements, the participants do not place
themselves in opposition to the authorities but rather place their
civic practices in opposition to the authorities practices. By doing
so, these participants facilitate the transformation of the
132
authorities authoritative and hierarchical practices into horizontal

andparticipatorypractices.
The importance of realizing civic practices through civic
movements is that they facilitate the formation of a tradition of
decision making in the system of governance that is based on the
public interest. Naturally, civic practices in Armenia remain in a
stateofinfancyandarenoticeableinthebehaviorofabroadlayer
ofsociety.However,thedatafromtheparticipantobservationsand
indepth interviews conducted during our research allow us to
concludethatcivicpracticeshavethetendencytogrowqualitatively
andquantitatively.
Onecannotstatethatthedevelopmentofcivicinitiativesin
Armeniaisprimarilycausedbypracticesintroducedintothecountry
by returned migrants. However, it is clear that these initiatives do
involve such returnees, for whom the civic component of their
practicesandvaluesystemsgrewspecificallyduringtheirmigration.
The effect of this return migration is that it allows the number of
participantsincivicinitiativestogrowandaddsdiversitytothecivic
practices that are utilized. The social ties that are formed through
civic initiatives by migrant students during the period they spend
abroadallowfordiscussionsandanexchangeofpracticesoverlong
distances,thankstomoderntechnology.
Theresearchdatarevealthatthestudentmigrantswhohave
returned to Armenia play a more direct role in the processes of
developingcivilsociety.Althoughtheirimpactontheseprocessesis
not direct, the role of longterm migrants returning from Western
countries is also positive. Seasonal migrants, however, play a
negligible role in the processes of formation and development of
civilsociety.Moreover,thepracticesofeverydaylifethatseasonal
migrants adopt and bring to Armenia (indifference, evasiveness,
adaptability and so on) are more suitable for the dissemination of
133
the authoritarian and hierarchical practices of the authorities than

forcivicpractices.
It is noteworthy that there are several types of practices
broughtbyreturnedmigrantsthatcontributetothedevelopmentof
civilsociety:
Civicpracticesthatimpactprocessesdirectly.
Basicpracticesofeverydaylife(spaceandtimemanage
ment, leisure, interpersonal and public relations, cloth
ing,selfcenteredeatingpracticesandsoon)thatforma
suitablevaluebasedsocialfieldfortheestablishmentof
civilsociety.Thesepracticesalsofacilitatetheformation
ofcivilsocietyshapingdiscourseinsocialenvironments.
Background practices of everyday life (tolerance,
criticism, reflexive, alternative, dialogue, discourse and
other practices) that also facilitate the dissemination of
discourse and create an environment that encourages
thedevelopmentofcivilsociety.
Civicpracticesaredirectlylinkedtopracticesofeverydaylife
related to, for example, food, clothing, leisure, space and time
management and so on. In this regard, not just the actual civic
practicesplayanimportantroleintheformationofcivilsociety;the
changes that occur in everyday practices in general also influence
changes in the individuals style, emancipation and selfdetermina
tion. Selfdetermination plays an important role in the formation
andengagementoftheindividualscivicidentity.Theemancipation
andselfdeterminationoftheindividualareimportanttoinitiatives
andmovementsthatfacilitatethedevelopmentofcivilsociety.Our
research data show that, in student migrants in particular, this
transformationisoneofthemostcommonones.Aftertheirreturn
to Armenia, these individuals experience transformations in their
134
everyday life that are very important as background practices for

the development of civil society in Armenia. Although these
practices occur in the background, they do not play a secondary
role.Theirroleisasimportantasthatofpracticesintheforeground
becausethroughthem,acriticalpointinpublicopinionisreached,
thus increasing the influence of the activists on the front lines of
civicprocessesandgivingshapetotheresultstheyachieve.
135
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CONTENTS

CONCLUSION ........................................................................................ 132

based on the objectives and experiences of their migration. It was

practices serve the purpose of achieving the individuals migration

term field is taken from P. Bourdieu (Bourdieu 1984, 226

Returnees from longterm migration are those who have

(Galstyan 2009a; Galstyan 2006; Galstyan & Makaryan 2012;

A significant proportion of migrants, especially seasonal

Migrants with these objectives usually go to Russia for

little and that money is not enough, which is why I left. . . .

intentions within the seasonal labor migrantgroup differ markedly

interesting and promising, so we decided to stay, work and

c. To develop the self by gaining new skills and abilities to

The main objective of migrants in this group is primarily to

This group has a particular place for people who primarily

a temporary job after ones arrival even if it was not possible to

It is also interesting to note that the interviewees included

People who have higher or longerterm objectives, such as

confirms the accuracy of this thesis. Daily life is indeed saturated

and some European countries towards migrants from Muslim

Migrants who wish to present themselves in terms of their

The research results show that among seasonal labor

community, then the concept of providing ones family with a

The practices aiming at status arrangement and realization

status at the migration destination does not matter to him. It is

Naturally, in Russia, the complications related to status are

Therefore, the status of seasonal labor migrants is pre

Those who accept the status arranged for them by others

The qualitative research data allow us to assume that the

respect to be well. But it is not possible to do all that in the

This approach is one of the main reasons why seasonal

This group of migrants, in contrast to seasonal migrants,

situation, we use the definition of cultural capital as provided by

By striving to gain a position in the host society as an

Before this, a few years ago, I would say, Let me build a

According to the characteristics of the practices aimed at

The everyday life of migrants can be studied by examining

continued to work. The whole construction crew would stay

For a largenumber of seasonal labor migrants, the topic of

For some of these migrants, the accommodation has no

The practices related to accommodation are different with

I lived alone in my room, but there were sixteen people on

During the course of migration, the other important spatial

One of the main obstacles to the free mobility of seasonal

around because they lack knowledge of the hierarchy of statuses,

Many of the people who have gone to Russia for seasonal

Mobility practices varied greatly, particularly among those

It is interesting that, in one case, the space between the

Holidays were also rare. Only one or two holidays in the

It is noteworthy that the employers, and not the seasonal

timetable, it was applicable only to the migrants and categorically

In his book Hidden Rhythms, E. Zerubavel writes that

What is most surprising is that there were many Armenian

These restaurants serve as a means, on the one hand, to

Regarding the menu, seasonal labor migrants largely eat

the consumption of highquality food, explaining this by their busy

Another main difference between seasonal labor migrants

their way of eating. Whereas the seasonal migrants eat in their

For student migrants, the hostel kitchen was an important

During their interviews, all of the seasonal labor migrants

Many of the seasonal migrants had a critical attitude

There were also migrants who considered the clothing

Thus, for some migrant groups, the preferences related to