• A
  • A
  • A
  • ABC
  • ABC
  • ABC
  • А
  • А
  • А
  • А
  • А
Regular version of the site

Summer Practice 2014

As usual, our laboratory went on a field trip this summer. We continued our studies of small towns. Last year, we selected one of the most successfully developing cities in the Leningrad region. This time, we went to an industrial town whose  town-forming enterprise ceased to exist not long ago. Using this town as an example, we decided to examine what happens to the town in the process of its de-industrialization, and how the local residents organize themselves to solve their problems.

The town, with a population of 33,000, is located in the Leningrad region, not far from the border with Estonia. According to local residents, in the 1980’s the town was one of the most prosperous in Russia, and it was famous for its three mines that were harvesting mineral resources. At a time when the rationing system for food existed in Moscow, the local residents could easily buy goods from Finland. However, starting from 1988, the mines were gradually shutting down, and in 2010 the last mining operations were finally stopped.

Now, there are no large shopping centres in the town, and almost no places for entertainment and recreation; people complain that they cannot find work. The train that connects the town with St. Petersburg stops here just 3 times a week; the town can also be reached by a bus, but the road takes about 4 hours. Many residents go to find work in neighbouring towns, and more often they work under a rotation system in St. Petersburg. The lowest accommodation costs in the region attract different people to the town. Some of them move here from St. Petersburg with part-exchange; some of the residents, on the contrary, move to St. Petersburg, closer to their grandchildren.

As usual, our task was to map the city and to collect interviews from the local residents. Our team consisted of 20 sociologists. The first meeting with the town was not very friendly: the town met us with a heavy rain and overcast skies; the houses were gray and the weather forecast didn’t promise any sun for three more days, despite the summer time. However, nothing can stop sociologists who are eager to conduct research and taste an adventure. On our first day, we tucked in to delicious pancakes, and after the meal we were divided into pairs and sent to map the town (i.e., mark on the map any broken windows, graffiti, garbage, etc.).

The city looked unusual, as though it was divided into two parts. It looks like two separate islands connected by a lone road. Historically, one of these parts was more important: it was the place of residence of mine chiefs, factory directors, and chief engineers. But now, all this has changed. When we asked people about the differences, the residents told us that this area is more crime-ridden now. We got a favourable impression of this district though: the small houses and people who greeted us were nice. During our field work we tried to compare both parts, taking into account different factors, including trademarks of social (dis)order.

Over these two weeks we collected a lot of interesting empirical data. We tried to understand (1) the attitude of the residents towards their town- what were the reasons for their attitude and what were their survival strategies and practical approaches to their economy; (2) the organizational structure of the local education system, how it meets the needs of different social groups, the function of the local yard clubs, and how the leisure time of the youth is organized; (3) who are the “unneeded people", what are their social trajectories and migration histories.

The concept of the “third place” in the local context became a special and very interesting topic of our research. This concept denotes a space which the residents can use to communicate and exchange news. Free access to such a space is one of its main characteristics. For example, in England, a “third place” is usually a pub where people go every day to drink together, tell jokes, and chat. In the town, such places are usually organized by the residents themselves. Elderly women told us that usually, during the daytime, they use such places to play dominoes and share the latest news, and in the evening, other people gather here to drink. At one such place, a housing maintenance board would sometimes arrange meetings for the local housing residents, and people could discuss and solve their housing problems together.