The Social Status of the Elderly in the Practice of Everyday Interaction in Public Places[Социальный Статус Пожилых Людей В Практиках Повседневного Взаимодействия В Общественных Местах]

The modern "Caucasian" ("traditional") model of respect to the elders is fundamentally different from "rural" illustrates the above theoretical difference in the types of respect. The distinction between so called traditional "(Central Asia, the Caucasus) and the actual Russian territories does not lay in the frequency or rigor of compliance, but in various models of respect. One of the most interesting and promising subjects, revealed in the paper, is how migrants from these areas (rural areas, the Caucasus, Central Asia, etc.) change their attitude towards the elderly after moving to large Russian cities. The results of qualitative research (in-depth interviews) showed that the notions of a norm of respect for migrants remain higher than for urban citizens. The main deformations happen in behavior, but they are slow and at times almost imperceptibly for migrants. A certain part of the migrants (who come in a related cultural environment/ who have come for a short time) may not have any changes at all. Among the reasons that representatives of cultures with a traditionally respectful attitude to the elders do not adequately show it while being in Russia, the following should be mentioned: a) a virtually complete absence of repressive sanctions for failure to respect in anonymous situations; B) the destruction of the method of respect - the asymmetric reactions of elderly people in Russia in situations of intergenerational contacts knock down the bearers of the "respectful" cultural tradition from the models of respect that they have adopted; Despite the small number of such cases, they can change the trajectories of the subject/observer behavior; C) the blurring of the object of respect - the behavior of the elderly that is not static from the point of view of representatives of traditional cultures can not simply conflict with the existing notions of the norm, but also disqualify the elderly person as a potential object of respect; D) in urban conditions, strict adherence to traditions, especially those that are incomprehensible/invisible to Aboriginal people, can be a reason for ridicule or other repressive actions. Perhaps part of the migrants such adherence to traditions under the pressure of the environment is beginning to be perceived as a sign of weakness/lack of autonomy, a non-prestigious/outdated version of behavior that should be abandoned for successful adaptation.