ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the role which property ownership plays in the social identification of Greek transnational migrants in their home community. The traditional household ideology of Greek transnational migrants in southern Russia which emphasises the interconnections between the family and its house / land has survived the tremendous impact of Soviet modernisation on rural society. These ties between the family and its land lot constitute the basis for one's personal identification both with the place and the local community. The local identification with and through property rights to the houses and land is imposed by the post-Soviet citizenship regimes in southern Russia, which exclude from ownership rights those people who have no local permanent registration. The post-Soviet privatisation of land and houses in addition to the emerging property market increases the competition between the groups of locals' and newcomers', while regional property regulations are used by the local Greeks to their advantage.
