Challenging patriarchy: The accumulation and transformation of capitals among Russian marriage migrants in Turkey

Date

2025-10-1

Author

Lemskaia, Alevtina

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This dissertation examines the marriage migration of Russian women to Turkey through the lenses of gender and power. Using feminist theories of patriarchy and Bourdieu’s capitals, it explores how women navigate two patriarchal societies and how their economic, cultural, social, and symbolic capitals transform through migration. Based on qualitative research, it draws on semi-structured interviews with 29 Russian-speaking women who migrated for marriage, complemented by autoethnographic reflections. The analysis shows that moving from Russia to Turkey places women in a dual patriarchal context where pre-migration skills and resources are often devalued. This compels them to recode or rebuild capital. Despite structural constraints such as economic dependence, legal barriers, social isolation, and gendered expectations, participants demonstrate considerable agency to negotiate household roles, build social networks, resist control through subtle or open means, and develop new forms of capital. Findings highlight that women are neither passive victims of patriarchy nor fully free actors, but active negotiators shaping their intimate lives. These forms of agency through strategies produce hybrid gender arrangements, ranging from traditional to more egalitarian marriages. This study contributes to migration and gender research by showing how patriarchal power is both reproduced and contested within transnational marriages and underscores the importance of supporting migrant women’s adaptation through credential recognition and rights awareness. It offers a nuanced understanding of marriage migration as a catalyst for personal transformation while revealing persistent gender hierarchies.

Subject Keywords

Feminist migration studies, Сross-border marriages, Patriarchy, Capitals, Agency

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11511/116187

Collections

Graduate School of Social Sciences, Thesis