CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2024
| Author | Orjonikidze, Mariam |
|---|---|
| Title | When the Former Colony Becomes a Sanctuary: Russian Wartime Migrant Life in Tbilisi |
| Summary | Following full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the Georgian capital of Tbilisi unexpectedly emerged as a prominent destination for Russian citizens departing their country due to critical political stances and concerns about military mobilization. The rising numbers of Russian citizens followed by skyrocketing prices in the city has brought to the surface Georgian historical anxieties over its relation to Russia, leading to tangible social tensions and a proliferation of physical manifestations in Tbilisi. Taking this tense environment into the focus, I sought to examine how Russian migrants establish and shape their social lives in Tbilisi, and how historical, imperial perceptions play out in reversed settings. Throughout my month-long fieldwork, I explored "Russian places" in Tbilisi—coffee shops, bars, and social venues established by newly arrived Russians, serving as hubs for Russian social life in the city, alongside conducting in-depth interviews with Russian citizens residing in Tbilisi. Based on this research, I argue that this migrant group is characterized by transient temporality and economic privilege, leading to peculiar life-making practices that reveal signs of consumption-led privileged/lifestyle migration and entrepreneurship-led diaspora building. These discrepancies are captured by the neologism “relocant”, a self-defining term often used by Russian exiles. Furthermore, Georgia's historical subordination to Russia, coupled with its current efforts to westernize by demonizing imperial Russianness, has a profound impact on how Russians shape their lives. First, it intensifies social and spatial separation, facilitating the creation of "Russian bubbles." Additionally, it creates a social field charged with incommensurable perceptions of the other, leading to continuous struggles to reimagine and perform distinct identities. |
| Supervisor | Sopranzetti, Claudio; Bodnar, Judit. |
| Department | Sociology MA |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2024/orjonikidze_mariam.pdf |
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