New Otkhodnichestvo and Shift Labor Organization in the Depopulation and Settlement of Territories

Modern Russia is characterized by a frequent discrepancy between the places of employment and residence of the able-bodied population. Combined with new opportunities for its spatial mobility, this has led to the development of intra-Russian and intraregional labor migrations. Among them, a significant place is occupied by commuting (daily departure to the place of work in another locality) and shift labor organization (departure to a place of work for a long time due to the irrationality of daily return to the place of permanent residence). The phenomenon of shift work historically grew out of prerevolutionary otkhodnichestvo, which does not fully coincide with the concept of seasonal work. Our contemporaries are increasingly using the concept of otkhodnichestvo, finding direct parallels with shift work. Such work is becoming one of the most dominant type of labor migration and an active factor of spatially mediated depopulation, which was analyzed in the previous issue of this journal. Unfortunately, statistics do not give objective information about this phenomenon; therefore, estimates by different researchers vary significantly. Legally, shift work in Russia is regulated only from the viewpoint of the employer–employee relationship. However, this article shows that it governs not only the special organization of labor, but also the special order of organizing the lives of millions of Russian citizens and spatial organization of economic and social activity in Russian regions and municipalities. Concentration of shift work vacancies is noted in Moscow and several other large cities, whereas in poorly populated areas of Russia, such vacancies are localized in stationary shift settlements. It is proposed they be considered as a kind of components of the settlement system with legal establishment of relations with local government bodies.