Presentations by Streams

The full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine has resulted in, among other much graver consequences, hundreds of thousands of Russians leaving the country. It is impossible to give the social portrait of a “typical emigrant” as various migration strategies differ radically. It is more viable to envision them as a complex continuum which includes political activists fleeing from repressions as well as young men escaping from the mobilization.
For us as researchers in social sciences who oppose this criminal war and share the experience of emigration with our interviewees, this project is more than an academic endeavour. We see it as a civil action as its results may be used to counter Russian propaganda.
The panel will feature the studies conducted by several research groups which form a complex understanding of the migration from Russia during the war.
1. The Independent research group “After 24” was formed in March 2022 by scholars who moved to Armenia and Georgia and focus on this region. They finished the quantitative stage of research with 900 filled questionnaires and started the qualitative one with over 50 interviews conducted at the time of this application. The main research questions include the identity of different migrant groups, adaptation and integration strategies, and political views and emotions.
2. Researchers from three universities conduct a survey that covers migrants based in 60+ countries (1680 completed questionnaires in March and 2900 - in September). This project relies on a variety of data that allow for a systematic comparison of migrants’ trajectories, their impact on the host state's security, domestic political landscapes, as well as their ties with Russia.
3. Alevtina Borodulina, social anthropologist and exhibit curator, and Eva Rapoport, cultural anthropologist and photographer, started working on the research of the “shock wave of Russian emigration” while volunteering for the Istanbul branch of “The Ark” (Kovcheg), a project helping Russian emigrants. They focus on people who left Russia during the very first weeks of the war. They also created a digital art project “Imagine/unimaginable” based on the interviews they conducted.