Adaptive Situation, Barriers and Behavioral Strategies of Immigrants of Central Chernozem Region of European Russia (the second half of the XIX - the beginning of the XX century)

A comprehensive assessment of the phenomenology of the resettlement movement, where key role was played by the migrants from the Chernozem area of European part of Russia in the second half of the XIX - beginning of the XX century, is impossible without considering its socio-psychological aspects. Taking into account the modern level of science development, we can make a detailed analysis of peasant «views», «images», «values», which, as Jacques Le Goffe said, most obviously reveal themselves in the «irrational and anomalous human behavior», i.e. most often in critical situations. From this point of view the resettlement movement in Siberia in the second half of the XIX - beginning of the XX century can be considered as a typical critical situation, characterized by more frequent manifestations of the irrational actions of consolidated groups of peasants. In this situation, the sustainable social and psychological patterns of behavior were formed providing a high rate of mobility of the majority of European Russia's rural population. It is obvious that the participants of the resettlement process had a common ultimate goal: to adapt as fast as possible to local conditions, to organize efficient economic activities, to achieve economic success. Under such contextual circumstances behavioral strategies emerged in a new natural and social environment. An active, contact, outward way of transformation of the environment can be considered as the first type of adaptive strategy characterized by the tendency to actively influence the environment or a partner in order to change them, to «adapt» to their features and needs. This strategy includes a wide range of ways and can be realized through the active pressure on the partner, transformation of the environment, as well as various kinds of manipulation. The second type includes an active, divergent, outward way of adaptive behavior, the strategy of leaving the environment in search of new living conditions. This strategy represents a direct withdrawal from the situation to search for a new environment that would correspond to individual's features. A man avoids the contact with a frustrating environment and focuses on the search for new, more acceptable conditions of existence. The third type is an active, divergent, inward (active avoidance of the interaction with milieu and moving into the inner world). This strategy is to avoid the contact with the environment through withdrawing into inner, «own» world. Manifestations of the strategy vary significantly and include, in particular, the search for alternatives to the real world in their own fantasies as well as in religious and philosophical systems. Active migrants avoiding the interaction with the environment as a model of adaptive behavior are most often seen in the religious sphere. The fourth type is passive, contact, inward (passive subordination to the environmental conditions). This strategy is determined by the tendency to a passive submission to the environmental conditions. The changes occur due to the outside influence, without independent self-conscious analysis of the situation and in most cases do not involve a deep personal adjustment. The most striking manifestation of this strategy is the conformal external behavior. This strategy can be expressed in a form of passive acceptance of external requirements and is slightly differently manifested in the phenomenon of imitation. Thus, as a part of the adaptive situation, resulting in the decision to resettle, an adaptive capability of migrants to overcome the barriers was determined by the efficiency of adaptive behavior strategies chosen.

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