Venue: BIG-Hörsaal, Main Building of the University of Vienna, Tiefparterre, Universitätsring 1, 1010 Vienna

Flight and migration are part of the dramatic consequences of the escalation of the Russian war against Ukraine. Millions of people have been forced to leave their devastated homes in Ukraine, but hundreds of thousands have also fled their Russian homeland. This presentation will analyze rare survey data on social and political views of Russian migrants in five countries. The face-to-face surveys of more than 4,000 people in Turkey and countries in Central Asia and the South Caucasus were conducted in the summer of 2023 and provide unique insights into this new social group, especially their basic social and political views as well as transnational connections. Emphasis is placed on the question of an emerging common identity as a new Russian diaspora. With the help of fusion theory, the talk will shown among which members of the Russian community a family-like sense of cohesion may have emerged. This perspective makes it possible to better understand the importance of horizontal solidarity for the self-organization of migrants and to relate it to political and social attitudes.

Félix Krawatzek is Head of the Research Unit Youth and Generational Change at the Center for East European and International Studies (ZOiS) and Associate Member at Nuffield College (University of Oxford). His research focuses on the comparative analysis of politics in Eastern and Western Europe, with a particular interest in the role of youth, the significance of historical representation in political processes, and issues of migration and transnationalism. Since September 2022, he has been leading the ERC-funded project Moving Russia(ns): Intergenerational Transmission of Memories Abroad and at Home (MoveMeRU).

Registration is only necessary for those participants who wish to join via ZOOM broadcast.