Generation 1.5 Russians in Israel: From Vodka to Latte. Maturation and Integration Processes as Reflected in the Recreational Patterns
Volume 16, 2011 : The Emerging Second Generation of Immigrant Israelis
English abstract
Generation 1.5 Russians in Israel:
From Vodka to Latte. Maturation and Integration Processes as Reflected in the Recreational Patterns
Liza Rozovsky and Oz Almog
The Department of Land of Israel Studies
University of Haifa
This article reflects on the process of coming of age among Russian Israelis who immigrated as older children or adolescents. It describes the culture of informal youth groups (tusovkas) of the 1990s that transplanted multiple elements of Russian subversive youth culture of the last Soviet and post-Soviet years onto Israeli soil. These groups - that flourished mainly in peripheral towns of Israel - served as both social safety net for alienated Russian teenagers and the bridge to their gradual acculturation. Entering adulthood, most tusovka members left the streets, completed their academic degrees, and moved to Central Israel in search of lucrative jobs and thriving cultural life. Although young Russian Israelis have adopted many elements of the mainstream lifestyle (particularly in the patterns of residence and entertainment), their social preferences and identity remain distinct in lieu of the lingering Russian cultural legacies.
About the authors
Lisa Rozovsky
Liza has recently completed her MA in social sciences at Haifa University. She was born in Moscow and immigrated to Israel as a child, in 1990, with her parents. Her research interests revolve around psychosocial aspects of integration of immigrant intellectuals. For almost ten years Liza worked as a journalist in different Russian-language Israeli media. She is currently working at the Association for Civil Rights in Israel
Oz Almog
Oz Almog is Professor of Sociology and History at the Land of Israel Studies Department, University of Haifa. He specializes in cultural semiology, social history of Israel society, Israeli popular and dominant culture, and Israeli ethnic groups and subcultures. Almog is a co-founder (with Dr. Tamar Almog) of People-Israel - an Internet guide of the Israeli society (www.peopleil.org). This guide offers a comprehensive user-friendly information on the main subcultures and lifestyles in present-day Israeli society. Professor Almog lives in Atlit near Haifa.
