Migrant Russian Families in Finland A Study Day
7.11.2007 at Väestöliitto, Helsinki
Director of COFACE, Mr. WILLIAM LAY welcomed the audience by saying some words about COFACE and the background of the seminar. The seminar in Väestöliitto is a part of a project that belongs to an EU funded program. The European Citizens program consists of 1250 selected projects. These projects contribute to the objectives of the program which are to bring European citizens closer to each other, create mutual understanding, solidarity and friendship. More than 700 of the projects are about intercultural dialogue and 400 about participation and democracy. Today’s seminar is one in the series of eight seminars organized by eight COFACE members in six member states. Managing director of Väestöliitto, Ms. Helena Hiila, in her opening words mentioned that the key areas of Väestöliitto are parenthood, couple relations, sexual health of adolescents. During the few past years, Väestöliitto has incorporated even immigration issues into its agenda. Immigrants are simultaneously a challenge and a great resource for Finnish society. Immigration to Finland is increasing and it is understood that in the future Finland will need employees in order to maintain and develop the welfare society. Väestöliitto’s focus is to emphasize the human needs of immigrants. Learning the language and finding employment are important but not sufficient conditions for integration. Väestöliitto points out that also the needs of families, children and youth need to be acknowledged by the receiving society. ‘In a current situation of increasing number of immigrated persons in Finland, we need to learn from one another and we need to widen our understanding related to notions of good life. By doing this, we will be able to develop Finnish society to become a diverse and good place to live for all’, concluded Ms. Hiila. The Member of the Parliament, Dr. Kimmo Kiljunen, stated that the theme of the seminar is extremely topical. Finland is facing two major demographic challenges: ageing of the population and increasing immigration. Immigration has increased more than five times in the past seventeen years. The real challenge is not, however, increasing immigration but the challenge of multiculturalism which need to be acknowledged by every responsible decision-maker. Particularly the number of Russian speaking immigrants will be further growing. Since Russia is our neighbour and a superpower, the role of Russian speaking population in our society will become more important. Dr. Kimmo Kiljunen claimed that it will be an enormous benefit for the country to have persons who can speak the language and who’ll be able in a genuine manner communicate with our neighbours. Even Finnish
speakers should invest more effort in learning Russian language. Despite of the difficult conflict Finland had with the Soviet Union in the past, Russia is an enormous potential for Finland even economically. However, most important is that Russian speakers in Finland would acknowledge Finland as their own country. Learning Finnish language is essential in that process. This is why the society should organize language courses in a more effective and systematic manner.
Managing director, Ms. Anna Leskinen, The Finnish Association of Russian Organizations, gave her presentation on the significance of employment for the wellbeing of Russian families. She pointed out that Russian speaking population is the largest immigrated population in Finland. In 2005, there was ca 40 000 persons who spoke Russian as their native language. Women outnumber men by ca 10 000 persons. Although Russian speakers are highly educated, the unemployment rate among them was 35, 3 % (Statistics Finland 2004). Among the obstacles for entering the job market Ms. Leskinen mentioned (1) the difficulty to receive equivalency for educational degrees earned abroad, especially those earned at the polytechnic level. Also, (2) previous work experience has not been recognized by employers and there has been also negative attitudes among them. (3) Finland as an officially bi-lingual country, in some positions in the public sector knowledge of both Finnish and Swedish language has been required, which has made it even more difficult for native Russian speakers to find employment in these sectors. One the other hand, (4) skills in Russian language and knowledge of Russian culture has not been valued. Unemployment causes poverty which has particularly negative consequences for families with children. Among other things, poverty weakens parents’ possibilities for carrying out their responsibilities for the care and maintenance of their children; it increases the risk of marginalization among children and adolescents as well as weakens their physical and mental health. The poverty and marginalization can thus transcend across generations. This has a great human and societal cost. What will bind immigrants in the new country and increase their well-being is a steady job, a cohesive family, social contacts and a feeling of being accepted. The receiving society should, as a part of the integration policy, focus on the wellbeing of the entire family, to give guidance and counselling for immigrated parents, and improve the attitudes among the majority population. Researcher, Dr. Minna Säävälä, The Population Research Institute of Väestöliitto, in her presentation on Russian speaking women in Finland also pointed out the high educational level of Russian speakers. Nearly 40 per cent has tertiary education (compare with over 30 per cent in the whole population). According to her study, women are eager to enter labour market but they suffer from higher unemployment rate than men (females 35 % vs. males 23 %). In addition to unemployment, other obstacles for women’s sense of wellbeing are single parenthood, economic hardship and small apartments. For most Russian speakers, moving to Finland has meant severe social de-classing even though their economic standard of living may have risen. However, enterprising spirit is high among Russian speaking women, and they possess good potential for success. Fifty eight per cent of Russian women living in Finland either cohabit or are married with a Finnish citizen (Liebkind ym. 2004), but the risk of divorce is three times higher that that in Finnish-Finnish couples (Statistics Finland 2006). Worst off are women who have to endure a violent marriage for 4 years in order to secure a residence permit in Finland
(Saarinen 2007) and those women who live in a rural area with few social and economic possibilities. About 2 in 3 Russian citizens in Finland live outside of Helsinki metropolitan area in smaller cities and rural areas. Those women who are married with a Finn, on the other hand, may have a great advantage in order to achieve social and economic integration (Jääskeläinen 2003; Warkentin 2000). Russian speaking women put a high value on their children’s education. Despite of parents’ appreciation there are some aspects in Russian speaking children’s schooling that bring about some worries: when compared to the native speakers, a smaller proportion of Russian speaking teenagers are enrolled in post-primary education and also they are less often engaged in waged employment. Another worrying fact is that more than every fourth Russian speaking child lives in a single parent household. Dr. Säävälä pointed out, that we know too little about Russian speaking youth and on family relations among the Russian speakers. More research data is needed. Most Russian speakers are going to stay in Finland and only a few entertain ideas of returning to the old homeland or moving forward to a third country. Ms. Anita Novitsky, specialist in multicultural issues at Väestöliitto, described the typical differences between Russian and Finnish marriages. According to her, in Russian marriages the families of a future bride and a future groom are involved in the decision making related to the marriage. As an outcome of getting married, a young couple gains some independence vis-à-vis her/his own relatives and their status as married persons arises in a society. In Russia, the expectations the spouses direct to a marriage and a spouse include: support and partnership, sharing, attention and love. In a bi-cultural marriage between a Finn and a Russian two languages and two cultures meet one another. Since verbal communication is strongly culturally bound, partners should share a common language well enough, but ideally both partners should know one another’s native language. Language can become a barrier for a successful marriage if it results to unspoken or unintentional messages and false interpretations. A child brings an extra ingredient in a bi-cultural marriage since notions of motherhood and fatherhood are strongly culturally constructed. In Russia, a lot of value given to a woman is based on her motherhood. Women also wish to maintain and express their femininity more clearly and visibly than in Finland. Fathers, on the other hand, have a clear bread-winner role. In their child-rearing practices Russian parents are prone to relay on authorities and specialists for advice and guidance. Also the extended family, particularly babuschkas (grand-mothers) easily get involved in child rearing. Actually, in Russia, the recent history has turned grandmothers into primary child raisers in many families, claims Ms. Novitsky. This ‘remote control’ by babuschkas who live in Russia may also be effective in Russian or bi-cultural families living in Finland. In bi-cultural couple relationships, a spouse’s experience of being an immigrant, which often includes a lack of fluency in Finnish language and a lack of societal knowledge as well as limited social networks, may burden the balance of a couple relationship. Also expectations for rapid changes in roles and norms may cause pressure in a marriage. Protecting factors for a relationship are for example (1) the existence of sufficient congruence in values and norms between the spouses, (2) an immediate community that is supportive and accepting, (3) partners’ good communicative and interaction skills, as well as (4) partners’ interest in one another’s cultural background. Dr. Anna Rotkirch, senior researcher at Väestöliitto, in her presentation collaborated further the relationship of Russian history and today’s norms and practices related to family, couple relations and sexuality. Since the sexual revolution accelerated in the 1990s, there is presently a huge generational gap in norms and practices. Average age of
first intercourse fell more than one year during 10 years. However, there are still strong romantic ideals among Russians related to dating and at least to the beginning of a marriage. Also contraceptive culture has changed from ‘an abortion culture’ to ‘condom culture’. Only one in ten women between 18 to 44 years of age use pills. Amazingly, what has not changed is the early age of marriage which has remained around 21 for women and 24 for men during the past 100 years! The first child is even today often born within a year after the marriage. The second child is more carefully ‘planned’ and families with three children are rare, mainly due to economic reasons. In Russia parallel sexual relations are more frequent than in Finland, and alcoholism and violence in families has been growing, but have also received more public awareness recently. The period of ”living with a child” is shorter for Finnish than for Russian parents. In Russia, a child is born earlier in parents’ life course and moves away later. The circumstances when an adult child lives with his/her own parents are also many: birth of a child, divorce, legal obligation to take care of one’s own elderly parents. In Russia, the cultural norms also stress the parental involvement and authority more than in Finland Ms. Tuulia Saves, community pedagogy in City of Helsinki Youth Department, focused in her presentation on Russian speaking youth around 12 to 15 years of age. In her work she meets with adolescents and their families who are referred to a special support program by e.g. school officials or by social workers. Reasons for referral are e.g. behaviour problems, depression or loneliness. About 50 families have participated in the ‘Spinnu’- program in which adolescents are offered individual support and group activities, and their parents have a chance for peer support groups (organized in cooperation with Väestöliitto). Parents may have high expectations towards their offspring in a new society and unmet expectations may cause intergenerational problems. Parents expect that their offspring show respect towards them, that children obey them and stay close both emotionally and physically. Adolescents are also expected to fulfil parent’s dreams for the future and not to engage in sexual life ‘too early’. Since children often learn Finnish language more quickly and in general get more easily integrated than their parents, the process of ‘dissonant acculturation’ takes place in a family. As a consequence, children may have more power in relation to their parents. Norms and values are in fluctuation in a family which may result in conflicts and arguments, even family violence. The other alternative may be that adolescents don’t challenge their parents’ norms openly but end up in living a double life. They may lie to their parents about e.g. the expectations and practices of Finnish school system (e.g. ‘there are no home assignments in Finnish schools’). Often a family makes efforts to keep the family problems out of sight by the outsiders and may be unable to seek help. Thus, Russian parents living in Finland need more information on the school system and the society at large, but they may also need support in raising their children in ‘an unknown terrain’.
A short abstract on the comments by the audience: Finland should work harder in order to maintain the Russian speaking immigrants here so that they would not return now as Russia is getting stronger again. There is still the mentality among Finns that ‘Russians should go home’. This mentality is also familiar to those Finns who emigrated to Sweden in the 60’s. There were more than 400 000 persons who moved and worked in low-paid positions as second class citizens in Sweden. Now
their position and status is much better. History seems to be the same for most first generation immigrants, but with time and by learning the language prejudices disappear and things can change. Integration into a new society is a question of time and generations. The Russian speaking second generation is in a different situation. As a ‘non-visible minority’ and fluent in Finnish, they can choose more freely their identity since it can not be imposed on them in the same manner than on their parents. However, it may happen that the second generation forgets their native language which may cause a wide inter-generational gap in a family. There are too few possibilities for children to maintain and learn Russian language in Finland. Only ca 300 students took Russian language as their major language in matriculation examination in 2006. Speaking Russian in the street and among peers at school may be problematic since speakers of minority languages may be mobbed by their peers. There are adolescents who are ashamed for their Russian language and roots and who wish to ‘pass’ as Finns. Another reaction may be that adolescents isolate themselves in ethnic gangs and resist everything that is ‘Finnish’. Despite of their good knowledge in Finnish, many adolescents do not feel being part of the Finnish society. In St. Petersburg the number of women in ages 35 to 50 is much higher than that of men due to higher mortality among men in that age. This may be one reason why women emigrate to Finland. Roles in immigrated Russian families may be a source of some challenges. For example men whose sense of value is much based on their bread-winner role may feel totally worthless when unemployed. Related to sexuality and contraception, there are many reasons why pills were not commonly used in Russia. There are e.g. many urban legends on the hormonal consequences. Russian immigrants often feel that it is too early to speak about sexuality to children in their early teens. They would prefer to start the sexual education with talking more about feelings, relations and romantic poetry. On the other hand, ideals and practices related to sexuality may be far away from one another in Russia.