Tightening Up : Social Mobility in Russia , 1988 - 2000

We compare the pattern of intergenerational social mobility late in Soviet-era Russia with data collected recently. We find evidence of a strong vertical hierarchy in the Russian occupational structure both during and after the Soviet era. Gender-typing shaped men’s and women’s occupational opportunities in Russia, but origins affected men and women similarly. Social mobility decreased slightly in Russia following the demise of communism. More importantly, as the transformation took hold, upward mobility became less frequent and downward mobility more frequent while social origins became a more salient factor in sorting workers into privileged and impoverished positions. Skilled manual employment has been replaced by lower-skill, lower-wage jobs in retailing and personal services, and, to a lesser degree, opportunities for self-employment. A comparison of cohorts makes clear that the change reflects the political and economic transition underway, not the demographic replacement of retiring cohorts by younger ones. In the field of mobility research, post-Soviet Russia is a rare case of a society that has become more closed in a short time. Russian specialists will take note that social mobility, like wages, has exhibited dramatic change in response to new institutional arrangements. But while growing wage inequality has affected all segments of society; mobility changes fell disproportionately on those who had been upwardly mobile during the Soviet era.