Survey of Housing Experiences in Russia, 1992-2013

The Survey of Housing Experiences in Russia (SHER) is a study of housing and demographic transitions for urban Russians who were 32-55 years old in 2013. This cohort experienced critical transitions into young and middle adulthood, when housing matters most, just before or after the collapse of the Soviet Union in December 1991. The survey obtains housing histories of 1000 focal respondents from 1992 through 2013, including a complete housing migration history, and extensive information on up to three dwellings (first, current, and penultimate). The survey also measures education, household structure, migration, employment, partnership, and childbearing histories, as well as family background characteristics. A supplemental survey of 318 spouses and cohabitating partners of focal respondents obtains complementary housing and employment histories for partners. The goal is to understand whether and how housing status (tenure, quality, and tenure) influenced family formation and dissolution and socioeconomic outcomes during a key period of post-Soviet transition.