‘People Often Don’t Understand What’s Going On around Them—but We Can Explain’

Georgy Stalinov conducts field-based social research and has created a video podcast about unusual social phenomena based on fieldwork materials. In an interview with the HSE Young Scientists project, he spoke about hitchhiking with lorry drivers, why working as a taxi driver can be a bad idea, and whether poaching exists in Kamchatka.

How I Started in Science

The Public Administration programme has the strongest group at HSE working on field-based social research. My lecturers, Simon Kordonsky and Juri Plusnin, have been taking students into the field since the 2000s to show how local self-governance works. This tradition developed into the Rediscovering Russia student expedition programme, which is how I got into academic research. At first, I was interested in the fieldwork itself, then later in methodology, theory, and fundamental research.

In my second year, I went to the Lipetsk region and later began regularly signing up for the two-week Rediscovering Russia expeditions. I got interested in social anthropology and entered the Master’s programme in Public Administration.

The Subject of My Research

Communities, economic and labour practices, and self-organisation.

What My First Major Research Project Was About

In my fourth year, I received a grant for a project on long-distance lorry drivers. To collect data, I began travelling with drivers. In total, I hitchhiked for about five weeks. I asked for a free ride on the road: at lorry stops, I would come up to drivers and explain that I was conducting research and writing a dissertation on their profession. During the ride, we discussed their work and lives. I would spend a day or two with one driver and then switch to another.

I also carried out on-site research. For instance, in Dagestan, I studied rural lorry driver communities that support drivers and/or their families in cases of accidents or fatalities.

What Interested Me Most

Their informal self-organisation. My PhD thesis focuses on the invisible social ties between drivers that make up their mobilisation potential. When the Platon road toll system was introduced in Russia in 2015, thousands of drivers managed to coordinate within days without the help of a trade union, and later formed an alternative association. As a result, the toll rate on federal roads was reduced from 4 roubles to 1.5 roubles per kilometre, and even now has only increased to 3.34 roubles.

You might assume that drivers are lone workers, unlike office or factory employees who are part of collectives. But drivers are connected informally, constantly interacting at stops and petrol stations, talking over walkie-talkies, and sharing information. They quickly built a nationwide organisational structure.

What Else I Study

I am quite deeply involved in research on natural resource use—that includes everything related to fishing and commercial hunting.

The largest commercial project I have participated in was a study of fisheries in the north and west of Kamchatka. We investigated the issue of poaching for domestic fishing companies based in the region.

In total, we spent three to four months in small villages, took part in fishing operations, lived at processing plants, and worked closely with both the fishing industry and those who combat poaching. Thanks in part to our research, some industrial products received certification and are now being exported abroad.

What to See in Kamchatka

It is one of the world’s most exceptional regions and by far the most unusual region in Russia. For an ordinary tourist, just visiting the Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky agglomeration is a breathtaking experience. It is a small town surrounded by stunning nature. You can go surfing on a beach with volcanic black sand, snowboard down volcano slopes with views of Avacha Bay, watch Steller sea lions lounging in the city centre, or swim in natural hot springs.

But tourists miss a lot. Domestic flights within Kamchatka are extremely expensive, so they are shown only the typical postcard scenes. They do not get to see the Koryak tundra or the stormy April ocean filled with ice floes.

What I Take Pride In

My project on lorry drivers, because I carried it out entirely on my own. I am also proud that our student reports published on HSE’s website helped launch a fantastic project in Kamchatka. I take pride in creating the Anthropole channel, which has attracted a wide audience, and in starting a podcast focused on field research.

I strongly believe we can produce knowledge that is genuinely useful to business and government. People often don’t understand what’s happening around them—and we can explain it. We conduct ethnographic research and get to the heart of complex issues. Right now, we are focused on applied projects. Last year, for example, I rented a car and worked as a taxi driver for several weeks, recording all my observations in a research diary.

Why Working As a Taxi Driver Is a Bad Idea

Ride-hailing apps push drivers into following a specific schedule. To earn decent money, a driver has to work around 12 hours a day—from morning until late at night, with only a short break in the middle. This routine essentially means living in the car. You get 3–4 free hours during the day, but there is nowhere to spend them. What is an ordinary taxi driver supposed to do when his wife is at work and the kids are at school or nursery?

He comes home at night, goes to bed, wakes up at 6 in the morning, and does not see his family either in the morning or in the evening. He also works all weekend, because he has to pay rent for the car every single day.

My Dreams

I am focused on applied projects. When a study is commissioned, you clearly understand who needs it and why. The Faculty of Social Sciences is shifting from fundamental research towards applied work. I would like our laboratory to compete with research agencies—to take on the most interesting projects, involve students in them, and train them through real fieldwork.

If I Hadn’t Become a Scientist

Before I decided to stay at the university, I had worked in HR. But I did not like it very much. In the end, I probably would have gone into entrepreneurship—I value freedom and independence. Academia and education offer a lot of free time that you can devote to your own projects and initiatives. That is what I really enjoy. The only other field where you might get that kind of freedom is entrepreneurship.

I think I could also become a writer or an actor. I have always been interested in cinematography, but I did not dare apply for a programme in this field.

Where I Am Going This Year

I have an expedition planned in Arkhangelsk Oblast, in the Pinezhsky District, to study the use of wild plants. My colleague Artemy Pozanenko and I are going to Irkutsk region to study a rural community that is engaged in fur trapping. We are also heading to Transbaikalia for a colleague’s project to explore how people interact with nature when they are surrounded by national parks. In Yekaterinburg, we will be filming a piece about semi-precious stone mining in the Urals.

I also wanted to film a documentary in Kamchatka for my blog, but have not found funding for it yet.

I am also planning other shoots—in Primorye, the Vologda region, St Petersburg, Kologriv, and possibly Karelia.

Whether I Have Experienced Burnout

Sometimes, when something starts to get repetitive. That is when I know it is time for another expedition. Earning money also helps fight burnout—it goes away very quickly when that happens. But I have never had a moment where I just lay there unable to do anything. On the contrary, I always feel like there is something else I should be doing, something else to think up. At first, I did what senior colleagues were doing—completed a master’s, became a lecturer, published a paper. Then came the blog, the video podcast, trips, working with an audience. Now, I am dedicating most of my free time to my blog and related activities.

Advice for Aspiring Scientists

I would advise against doing empty, pointless work. Focus only on projects that offer personal growth and benefit your team. If you are feeling unmotivated, go for a walk—the burnout will pass and useful thoughts will come.

You need to understand how the system works. Bring together science, student engagement, and the potential for large grants or commissioned projects—all within the same initiatives.

You have to be enterprising and be ready to take the initiative. Otherwise, you end up just doing what others tell you to do—and in academia, doing what you are told is incredibly dull.

The Three Most Beautiful Places I Have Ever Seen on Expeditions

The Vyvenka River in Kamchatka. The Timan Ridge in northern Komi: hills, winding rivers, and endless taiga. And the Podkamennaya Tunguska in Krasnoyarsk Krai.