ABSTRACT
In this chapter I look at some individual paths into homelessness in post-Soviet Russia. The cases that I analyse, while unique, represent the key factors which lead people to losing their attachment to places: migration, imprisonment, family break-up, being brought up in care or becoming a victim of housing fraud. The interviews show how, having lost their homes, people try, with varying success, to anchor themselves socially. At the same time, despite their struggle, their position in the social space and the treatment they receive from the agents of power create a powerful dynamic of marginalisation. The in-depth interviews make it possible to see the transformation of the displaced persons’ social identities and the complex processes of resistance and adaptation to the status of a disqualified other. Although they are no longer stigmatised as asocial parasites, homeless people are denied social membership because of their lack of residential rights.
