The material culture of migrants in the Jewish autonomous region in the late 20th - early 21st centuries

The paper describes the main features of the material culture of migrants in the Jewish Autonomous Region in the late 20th - early 21st centuries. The specific development of the modern migration processes in the Jewish Autonomous Region is determined by such factors as its remoteness from the Central Russia, its border status, a particular history of its establishment as a constituent entity of the Russian Federation. The policy of attracting migrants to the region is defined not only by the authorities but also by the entrepreneurs. The big businessmen activities in this area are no less important than the adoption of the government management decisions. Therefore, this unpredictable aggregate result can have an impact on regional labour movement, social, economic and political situation. Due to the fact that the Jewish Autonomous Region borders China with almost one and a half billion population, the solution of migration, demographic and social problems is of strategic importance for the region and Russia as a whole. To collect the research materials, the authors applied such methods of field ethnography as observation and questioning of informants. The emphasis is placed on the range of clothing, family traditions of migrants in the region under review.