Paper abstract:

This presentation focuses on transnational polygamous marriages of migrants from Central Asia in Russia and how transnational polygynous practices influence people’s understanding of marriage, love, and family. It will explore in which ways migrants engaged in transborder polygynous marriages negotiate their position within families. What are the perspectives of individuals involved in polygynous practices abroad considering the wider context of Islam, social perception of polygyny, and migrants’ situation in Russia. In which way do people manage their strategies, and how their cope with daily pressures to assert control in their marriages. How transborder polygyny affects the relationships with their extended families in Central Asia and Russia. And how polygyny can be seen as coping strategies related to economic survival as well as loneliness and psychological tensions experienced by migrants. The presentation will be based on the case studies of migrants from Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan met by an author during field research conducted in Moscow between 2017-2019. The findings show a variety of practices and strategies used by individuals who live in multiple relationships. From the “true love story” of their own choice to pleasing their family by marrying the person selected by them to upgrading their status [in the case of women]. People are involved in temporary love affairs concluded only by the nikāḥ to follow the norms recognized by society, or they find a partner for pragmatic reasons.