Is cohabitation an alternative to marriage in Russia?

P. 732–743.

Artamonova A.

Declining marriage rates and increasing cohabitation rates in modern Russia have become a trend that many scholars have observed and tried to explain through the perspective of the Second Demographic Transition. The current study is another attempt to understand these changes. The aim was to reveal the difference between some patterns of matrimonial events, define the nature of cohabitations in Russia, and find out the factors of entrance to non-marital unions. For these purposes, Event History Analysis method was applied. We also suggested a logical scheme of the ways of development of the first cohabitations. The opposite trends of matrimonial behavior were observed: the younger Russian people are, the higher their probability of starting the first cohabitation and the lower their risk to have the first marriage. The analysis showed that a cohabitation is not yet a complete alternative to marriage but it has possibility of becoming it for younger generations.

Keywords: жизненный путь, cohabitation, consensual union, marriage, partnership, сожительство, консенсуальный союз, брак, партнерство, life course

Publication based on the results of: Изучение динамики формирования и развития семей и процессов рождаемости на данных выборочных обследований (2014)

In book

Сборник научно-исследовательских работ студентов — победителей Конкурса НИРС 2013–2014 гг.

М.: Издательский дом НИУ ВШЭ, 2015.