Precarious labour: Russia's other transition

A major outcome of the post-socialist transition in Russian has been widespread and persistent poverty. For three decades now, the capitalist economy has consistently failed to provide stable employment forcing large populations of the post-Soviet poor, as well as the thin middle class, to secure livelihoods through various forms of precarious work involving short-term, insecure, low-paid, unregulated and often off-the books employment. The case of Russia demonstrates the effects of neoliberal policies with particular clarity and may be indicative of a likely global neoliberal future unless challenged by researchers, activists, politicians, policymakers, and, as ever, people themselves. This chapter focuses on temporary labour migration that became a livelihood strategy for the large number of increasingly precarious workers and its yet to be recognized political possibilities.