Paper abstract:

In April 2022 a prominent Russian human rights and migrant rights activist raised alarms on social media to warn Central Asian migrant workers against joining Russia’s military amid false promises of rapid pathways to Russian citizenship and large payouts. Since the beginning of Moscow’s invasion, an unknown number of ethnic Central Asians have been killed in action in Ukraine. Rumors on social media and other reports lack clarity on the number of immigrants fighting on Russia’s behalf. This research project uses two methods to collect and examine stories of Central Asian immigrants to Russia currently serving in the Russian military and participating in its operations against Ukraine. First, I created a database of Russian and Central Asian media and social media to document recruitment efforts, recruitment stories, and the deaths and repatriation of ethnic Central Asians killed in action. Second, I conducted a survey and open-ended interviews with Central Asian diaspora members living in the United States who have extended family members serving in Russia’s armed forces. Although stories are necessarily secondhand accounts, family members provide insight into Russia’s recruitment efforts, as well as attitudes Central Asian immigrant attitudes toward the war.