Working paper by Evgeniya Polyakova and Margarita Kuleva

Working paper "Cultural employment in Russia and Europe: A comparative analysis " is available online.

Polyakova E., Kuleva M. Cultural employment in Russia and Europe: A comparative analysis / CGES WP 2018-01, Bielefeld / St. Petersburg, 2018.

This paper examines employment in the cultural field in Russia and in a selected number of EU countries in light of debates on the development of the “creative economy” in Russia. Data from the comprehensive monitoring of living conditions by Rosstat and Eurostat cultural statistics are used to illustrate main differences in socio-demographic and occupational characteristics of cultural workers in these countries. The findings show that the characteristics of cultural workers vary dramatically over Russia and Europe. In particular, part-time and self-employment as well as the existence of a second job are not key features of Russian cultural workers. By contrary, individuals involved in the creative and cultural sphere in the EU are less likely to be in full-time employment and more likely to be self-employed or part-timers than in Russia. Our results suggest that it is hardly possible to emulate the European experience in creative and cultural industries without serious structural changes in the sphere of cultural employment in Russia.

Working paper (pdf)