“We Simply Live Together”: Cohabitation in Modern Russia

Abstract

Studies of cohabitation being a subject field of the sociology of the family are influenced by two strong traditions: the first one considers cohabitation as a crisis of the institution of family, the second one — as an indicator of modern type of marriage. This view often involves typification of forms of cohabitation by analogy with forms of marriage or identification of interrelation of marriage and cohabitation. Based on a series of in-depth interviews, the authors attempt to give a sociological description of cohabitation as an independent social process: beginning of the relationship and cohabitation, acquaintance to parents, perception in couple of legal registration of marriage, preparation for it (or refusal of marriage registration), parting. The study is conducted using the methodology of sociology of critical capacity (L. Boltanski and L. Thévenot). Cohabitation relationship in terms of some institutional subsystems or worlds, which moral principles partners address, leads to a number of conclusions. Cohabitation is a form of local agreement in force in certain situations, which is not a subject of public agreement, as well as any local agreement may be terminated. The form of acquaintance to parents of partners in couple is an indicator of the mode of coordination of actions (acquaintance “by the rules” legitimizes the relationship of partners and turns it into family mode; avoiding or profanation of acquaintance are connected with the desire to leave the relationship in the status of a couple in love). After parting partners tend to depreciate former agreements considering the existed order insufficiently “strong”, inferior to the registered marriage. Couples in cohabitation show more “superresponsibility” in relation to official marriage that is connected with reluctance (but readiness) to divorce in the future.