Professional Commitment of Russian Provincial Specialists

This article examines the determinants of professional commitment of college-educated specialists in one of the Russian provinces. We analyze the specialists’ professional commitment as determined by two sets of orientations: universalistic instrumental factors (compensation, career advancement and opportunities of alternative employment) and specifically professional noninstrumental factors (professional responsibility, cognitive orientation, and cultural capital). Although both instrumental and noninstrumental factors affect professional commitment of Russian specialists, noninstrumental factors are the most important. The article also identifies significant differences between two groups of Russian professionals, technocrats, and the traditional intelligentsia.