Migration, Homeland, and Belonging in Eurasia

Migration, Homeland, and Belonging in Eurasia
Author: Cynthia J. Buckley
Publisher: Woodrow Wilson Center Press
Total Pages: 378
Release: 2008-09-09
Genre: History
ISBN: 0801890756

Migration, a force throughout the world, has special meanings in the former Soviet lands. Soviet successor countries, each with strong ethnic associations, have pushed some racial groups out and pulled others back home. Forcible relocations of the Stalin era were reversed, and areas previously closed for security reasons were opened to newcomers. These countries represent a fascinating mix of the motivations and achievements of migration in Russia and Central Asia. Migration, Homeland, and Belonging in Eurasia examines patterns of migration and sheds new light on government interests, migrant motivations, historical precedents, and community identities. The contributors come from a variety of disciplines: political science, sociology, history, and geography. Initial chapters offer overall assessments of contemporary migration debates in the region. Subsequent chapters feature individual case studies that highlight continuity and change in migration debates in imperial and Soviet periods. Several chapters treat specific topics in Central Eurasia and the Far East, such as the movement of ethnic Kazakhs from Mongolia to Kazakhstan and the continuing attractiveness to migrants of supposedly uneconomical cities in Siberia.

Migration, Homeland, and Belonging in Eurasia

Migration, Homeland, and Belonging in Eurasia
Author: Cynthia J. Buckley
Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press
Total Pages: 384
Release: 2008-09-01
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 9780801893315

Migration, a force throughout the world, has special meanings in the former Soviet lands. Soviet successor countries, each with strong ethnic associations, have pushed some racial groups out and pulled others back home. Forcible relocations of the Stalin era were reversed, and areas previously closed for security reasons were opened to newcomers. These countries represent a fascinating mix of the motivations and achievements of migration in Russia and Central Asia.Migration, Homeland, and Belonging in Eurasia examines patterns of migration and sheds new light on government interests, migrant motivations, historical precedents, and community identities. The contributors come from a variety of disciplines: political science, sociology, history, and geography. Initial chapters offer overall assessments of contemporary migration debates in the region. Subsequent chapters feature individual case studies that highlight continuity and change in migration debates in imperial and Soviet periods. Several chapters treat specific topics in Central Eurasia and the Far East, such as the movement of ethnic Kazakhs from Mongolia to Kazakhstan and the continuing attractiveness to migrants of supposedly uneconomical cities in Siberia.

Post-Soviet Migration and Diasporas

Post-Soviet Migration and Diasporas
Author: Milana V. Nikolko
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 182
Release: 2017-02-20
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 3319477730

This book examines the relationship between post-Soviet societies in transition and the increasingly important role of their diaspora. It analyses processes of identity transformation in post-Soviet space and beyond, using macro- and micro-level perspectives and interdisciplinary approaches combining field-based and ethnographic research. The authors demonstrate that post-Soviet diaspora are just at the beginning of the process of identity formation and formalization. They do this by examining the challenges, encounters and practices of Ukrainians and Russians living abroad in Western and Southern Europe, Canada and Turkey, as well as those of migrants, expellees and returnees living in the conflict zones of Azerbaijan, Georgia and Moldova. Key questions on how diaspora can be better engaged to support development, foreign policy and economic policies in post-Soviet societies are both raised and answered. Russia’s transformative and important role in shaping post-Soviet diaspora interests and engagement is also considered. This edited collection will appeal to students and scholars of diaspora, post-Soviet politics and migration, and economic and political development.

Fragile Migration Rights

Fragile Migration Rights
Author: Matthew Light
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 239
Release: 2016-03-10
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1317631218

The Soviet Union comprehensively governed the mobility of its citizens by barring emigration and strictly regulating internal migration. In the aftermath of the Soviet collapse, the constitution and laws of the new Russian Federation appeared to herald a complete break with the repressiveness of the previous government. Russian law now proclaims the right of Russian citizens and residents to move around their country freely. This book examines how and why this post-Soviet legal promise of internal freedom of movement has been undermined in practice by both federal and regional policies. It thereby adds a new dimension to scholarly understanding of the nature of rights, citizenship, and law enforcement in contemporary Russia. Most contemporary works focus on the attempts of developed Northern countries to regulate migration from the global South to the global North: here Matthew Light examines the restriction of migration within Soviet and post-Soviet Russia, providing a comprehensive view into an area rarely explored within migration scholarship. Fragile Migration Rights develops a comprehensive theoretical framework to analyse this complex subject. It is essential reading for students and academics from a range of disciplines including criminology, human rights, migration studies, and political science.

East European Diasporas, Migration, and Cosmopolitanism

East European Diasporas, Migration, and Cosmopolitanism
Author: Ulrike Ziemer
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 168
Release: 2013
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0415517028

Following the collapse of the communist regimes in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union, there were considerable migration flows, the migrations and subsequent diasporas often having special characteristics given the relative lack of migration in communist times and the climate of increasing nationalism which had the potential of working against multiculturalism. This book explores these migrations and diasporas, and examines the nature of the associated cosmopolitanism.

Migrant Workers in Russia

Migrant Workers in Russia
Author: Anna-Liisa Heusala
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 149
Release: 2016-09-13
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1317328000

Russia has a very large pool of economic migrants, up to 25% of the workforce according to some estimates. Although many migrants, many from former Soviet countries which are now independent, entered Russia legally, they frequently face bureaucratic obstacles to legal employment and Russian citizenship, factors which have led to a very large “shadow economy”. This book presents a comprehensive examination of migrant labour in Russia. It describes the nature of migrant labour, explores the shadow economy and its unfortunate consequences, and discusses the rise of popular sentiment against migrants and the likely impact. The book also sets the Russian experiences of migrant labour in context, comparing the situation in Russia with that in other countries with significant migrant labour workforces. The Open Access version of this book, available at http://www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND) 4.0 license.

Mapping Migration, Identity, and Space

Mapping Migration, Identity, and Space
Author: Tabea Linhard
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 372
Release: 2018-07-14
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 3319779567

This interdisciplinary collection of essays focuses on the ways in which movements of people across natural, political, and cultural boundaries shape identities that are inexorably linked to the geographical space that individuals on the move cross, inhabit, and leave behind. As conflicts over identities and space continue to erupt on a regular basis, this book reads the relationship between migration, identity, and space from a fresh and innovative perspective.

Russian as a Transnational Language

Russian as a Transnational Language
Author: Olga Solovova
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 217
Release: 2023-12-22
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 1003816770

This collection contributes to emerging work in critical sociolinguistics, using a multidisciplinary and multiscalar approach to understanding the diasporic experience in the Russian-speaking world. The volume expands on research in the sociolinguistics of mobility, multilingualism, and diaspora studies. It critically examines the ways in which transnational Russian identities are perceived and discursively enacted in online and offline spaces, and how this interplay contributes to diasporic identification across the globe. In highlighting a range of critical methodologies at multiple scalar levels − across family, national, and global lines − the book raises key questions about what binds and distinguishes individuals belonging to diverse communities of Russian speakers. It likewise interrogates established notions of memory, nostalgia, authenticity, and belonging, as well as perceptions of futurity and change. This book will be of particular interest to students and scholars in sociolinguistics, multilingualism, language and education, and linguistic anthropology.

Why Control Immigration?

Why Control Immigration?
Author: Caress Schenk
Publisher: University of Toronto Press
Total Pages: 391
Release: 2018-03-01
Genre: History
ISBN: 1487516363

Migration management in Russia is a window into how public policy, the federal system, and patronage are used to manage conflicting demands. This multi-level balancing act demonstrates the importance of high-level politics, institutional interests and constraints, and the conditions under which government actors at all levels can pursue their own interests as the state seeks political equilibrium. Why Control Immigration? argues that a scarcity of legal labour and the ensuing growth of illegal immigration can act as a patronage resource for bureaucratic and regional elites. Assessing the legal and political context of migration, Caress Schenk blends a political science approach with insights from the comparative immigration literature. Using this framework, she also engages with attitudes on populism and anti-immigration, particularly in terms of how political leaders utilize and employ public opinion in Russia.

The Central Asia–Afghanistan Relationship

The Central Asia–Afghanistan Relationship
Author: Marlene Laruelle
Publisher: Lexington Books
Total Pages: 283
Release: 2017-08-14
Genre: History
ISBN: 1498546552

Central Asia is a relatively understudied neighbor of Afghanistan. The region is often placed into a number of historical and political contexts—a section of the Silk Road, a pawn in the “Great Game,” the “spillover” state that exemplifies the failure of US foreign policy—that limit scholarly understanding. This edited volume contributes by providing a broad, long-term analysis of the Central Asia–Afghanistan relationship over the last several decades. It addresses the legacy of Soviet intervention with a unique first-hand selection of interviews of former Soviet Central Asian soldiers that fought in the Soviet–Afghan War. It examines Afghanistan’s norther neighbors, discussing Russia, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan—their strategy for Afghanistan, their perception of challenges and opportunities of the country, and patterns of cooperation and conflict. The collection also looks at recent US strategic initiatives in the region, in particular the New Silk Road Initiative that envisions a growing Central Asia–South Asia connection.