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Finnish-Russian Transnational Families

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Finnish-Russian Transnational Families TRANSNATIONAL FAIRYTALE: FINNISH-RUSSIAN TRANSNATIONAL FAMILIES Daria Chistiakova University of Tampere School of Social Sciences and Humanities Tampere Peace Research Institute (TAPRI) Master Programme in Peace, Mediation and Conflict Research Specialization in Social Anthropology Supervisor: Marko Juntunen Doctor of Social Sciences University of Tampere 2014 University of Tampere School of Social Science and Humanities Tampere Peace Research Institute DARIA CHISTIAKOVA: Transnational fairytale: Finnish-Russian transnational families. Master’s Thesis, 105 pages Master Programme in Peace Mediation and Conflict Research September, 3 ____________________________________________________________________________ Abstract This thesis explores the transnational family life of Russian female migrants in Finland which is challenged by the possible misunderstandings in the transnational marriage. Such misunderstandings, as I propose, may be explained by the notion of mutual expectations of the foreign spouses. Their cultural backgrounds, social behavioural norms, gender order and personal traits make them look for a compromise and mechanisms of negotiation of their conflicts in their transnational relationships. Moreover, it is believed that more often cross cultural marriages and transnational families entail a greater source of family frictions, conflicts and misunderstandings than traditional nuclear families established in the local context. However, my fieldwork research revealed a different story, more subtle and more positive and free from the common prejudices about transnational marriages that are usually exposed more to the conflicting situations. The study reveals not only the negative experiences of immigrant Russian women in Finland, but also their positive experiences. In the thesis, I studied the dynamics of mutual expectations of Russian female migrants and their Finnish spouses in the context of transnational marriage. The thesis consists of three main dimensions, which I consider as core elements, that help to reveal the problematic of Finnish- Russian family frictions. The first dimension is devoted to the notion of transnational family in general, which preliminary helps to reflect on the possible problems a transnational family may pass through. The second dimension describes the gender order in both countries, what also helps to trace and predict the potential misunderstandings of spouses from different countries. The third element is historical, it provides the historical overview of the common history of rivalries and peace, and mobility trends. In this dimension, I particularly refer to collective memory that also shapes and predetermines the perception of both nationalities. The research results are based on an ethnographic study I conducted in September-December 2013 in the city of Tampere, Finland, among Russian female migrants. The ethnography included the methods of interview and participant observation. In the interview method I applied the method of life stories. It helped me to have an insight into the ways of lives of female Russian migrants in Finland. In my research, I particularly refer to the experiences of immigrant women and the self-constructed images transmitted through their life experiences which shaped in their narrative. Keywords: Transnationalism, Transnational family, Finnish-Russian families, Transnational marriage, Marriage migration. Table of Contents Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 1 Chapter 1 Research Scope ............................................................................................................. 2 Gender, expectations and life trajectories ........................................................................................ 2 Ethnographic adventure ................................................................................................................... 3 Transnational actors ........................................................................................................................ 4 Theoretical approaches ..................................................................................................................... 5 Structure of the thesis ...................................................................................................................... 7 Research methodology and data collection ...................................................................................... 8 Chapter 2 Doing ethnography in transnational perspective ...................................................... 9 Fieldwork ....................................................................................................................................... 10 Self-reflexivity ............................................................................................................................... 12 Anthropological dilemmas and ethics ............................................................................................ 13 Chapter 3 Between Finland and Russia: a transnational fairytale ....................................... 15 What is transnationalism ................................................................................................................ 15 Russian female cosmopolitans and their “mobile livelihoods”……………………………….. .... 18 Russian women moving to Finland: who are they? ....................................................................... 19 Being Russian ................................................................................................................................. 21 “We fought for “a place in the sun”” ............................................................................................. 23 A vicious circle: from the ship tourist to the house worker ........................................................... 26 “Border artists” ............................................................................................................................... 29 Culture as a “repertoire” ................................................................................................................. 31 “Cultural starvation” ..................................................................................................................... 33 Chapter 4 Finland and Russia – between History and Anthropology ................................... 38 “Don't cross the bridge until you come to it.” ................................................................................ 38 “We are not Swedes, and do not want to become Russians, therefore let us be Finns.” ............. 39 Emotional border ........................................................................................................................... 40 Border crossings in the XX century and Post-Soviet era…. .......................................................... 41 Chapter 5 Transnational family: Finnish-Russian context ................................................... 44 Transnational family ...................................................................................................................... 44 Transnational or non-transnational? ............................................................................................. 47 God knows no distance: “frontiering” and “relativizing” ............................................................ 48 Chapter 6 How to study gender in a transnational setting ....................................................... 50 Gender, labour and migration: the Soviet context .......................................................................... 51 Gender, Russian women and family in contemporary Russia ....................................................... 54 Motherhood – womanhood ............................................................................................................ 56 Gender order in Finland – the Dawn ............................................................................................. 56 Suomen naisten ja miesten ............................................................................................................. 58 Gender – socially constructed and stereotypically viewed? ........................................................... 59 Finnish husbands – “plush” and “soft”? ...................................................................................... 61 Mutual Expectations in the Finnish-Russian Transnational Family .............................................. 63 Chapter 7 The reality of life: Russian wives and Finnish husbands ...................................... 71 Transnational marriage as a tool: love or gain? ............................................................................. 71 Global hypergamy .......................................................................................................................... 73 “Good character like good soup is usually homemade” ................................................................ 76 Upbringing, culture or mentality: Do we need to change each other? .......................................... 80 “Sham marriages”: Stereotypes and stigma ................................................................................... 84 Transnational involvement: integration in Finland ........................................................................ 90 Conclusion ....................................................................................................................................
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