The image of the “alien” in the infrastructure of the Russian city (the example of Chelyabinsk region)

The article aims to identify the criteria of the "image" of a migrant and "migrant" infrastructure, to describe the problems of interethnic relations, integration of migrants from Central Asia in a Russian city (using the examples of cities in Chelyabinsk region). The author relies on 540 interviews with the local population of six cities of the region (Chelyabinsk, Kopeysk, Magnitogorsk, Miass, Zlatoust, Troitsk), as well as the results of observations, content analysis of mass media and Internet resources. The quantitative and qualitative characteristics revealed in the course of the research allowed us to characterise the image of the "alien", the structure of urban space in the dichotomy "native"-"alien", to identify the problems of interethnic relations, to describe which objects are given the status of "migrant" and through what markers this happens. Particular attention is paid to the image of the "alien" in the media and various Internet resources, which largely shape public attitudes towards migrants and where the latter are most often endowed with negative characteristics (settling by large families and thus "taking over" entire city districts, illegally occupying jobs and entire spheres of the regional economy). It is concluded that the image of the "alien" and "migrant" infrastructure in the media is formed under the infl uence of national, ethnic and class stereotyping, a limited set of life contexts, impersonality and passivity of migrants. It was revealed that a signifi cant part of negative attitudes of the local population towards migrants is projected onto quite specifi c objects of urban infrastructure (markets, educational and medical institutions, "dangerous" neighbourhoods, etc.) and the spheres of activity (shuttle buses, trade, construction, etc.).