"New" Villagers: Typical Scenarios of Moving to the Countryside and Strategies of Interaction with Local Residents

The theoretical foundation of this study is based on the conceptual work of Russian scholars involved in the "Ugor Project" (from 1996 to the present), which focuses on the development of rural areas in the Near North of the Russian Federation during the post-Soviet period. This includes the work of sociologist N.E. Pokrovsky and social geographers T.G. Nefedova and A.I. Treivish.

The report focuses on the strategies of adaptation adopted by former urban residents ("new" villagers) who have moved to rural areas. Depending on their motives for relocation, material and professional resources, types of activities, and cultural capital, these individuals choose different strategies for interacting with local communities, territorial authorities, and their immediate neighbors.

The authors provide three case examples: (1) the story of a 60-year-old man who moved from a regional center to a depopulated village to revive it; (2) a 45-year-old agronomist who relocated from a city in the Moscow region to a rural province for a high-ranking position with the aim of developing an agricultural nursery; and (3) a 38-year-old journalist who prefers combining life in the countryside with remote work. These cases allow the authors to identify and describe three typical scenarios—return migration, professional mobility, and downshifting—while not overlooking the unique characteristics of each life situation.

In the report, the authors conduct a comparative analysis of the chosen strategies for interacting with local residents in relation to the life trajectories of the "new" villagers.

The results presented in the report were obtained with the support of the Russian Science Foundation Project 24-68-00055 "From the past to the future: rural communities in a post-agrarian transformation vector."