The Kyrgyz Diaspora in the Regions of Russia: Transnationalism and Migrants’ Problems

Abstract

This article considers the current formation of the Kyrgyz diaspora. Scholarly literature persists in attempting to interpret Kyrgyz communities outside their homeland as diaspora, which makes the issue relevant. Methodologically, the study draws on a transnational approach, which makes it possible to understand the relationships and connections between the place of residence and the local homeland, with reference to Kyrgyz nationals, and to compare the diaspora itself and transnational communities or, as T. Faist puts it, “two awkward partners in the dance”. The author refers to data from the Kyrgyz Diaspora Mapping Project, carried out under the auspices of the International Organisation for Migration in 2021, as well as in-depth unstructured interviews collected during the author’s fieldwork in Chelyabinsk (47 interviewees), Yekaterinburg (19 interviewees), and Krasnoyarsk (14 interviewees). On average, the interviews lasted for half an hour, and the gender ratio in the group of informants was 31 women and 49 men. The author considers the following parameters of belonging to the diaspora: diaspora and transnationalism, participation in the activities of Kyrgyz public organisations, settlement of Kyrgyz migrants, their orientation to their historical homeland, and specificity of identity. This review tells us more about the absence or incompleteness of the Kyrgyz diaspora in Russia. It is noted that, on the one hand, Kyrgyz migrants are disconnected and distrust the activities of diaspora organisations, and, on the other hand, they form dynamic transnational spaces linking the areas of origin and residence, in this case, the Urals and Siberian regional capitals (Chelyabinsk, Yekaterinburg and Krasnoyarsk).