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Abstract

The Armenian experience offers a compelling example of intra-group contacts and their social consequences. These contacts often reveal tensions and misunderstandings despite shared ethnicity.

A distinctive feature of the Armenian case is its unique territorial fragmentation. First, the fraught interactions between different Armenian groups in the 20th–21st centuries unfolded primarily within the Armenian SSR and later independent Armenia – the singular “homeland” to which one could “return.”

Since the late Soviet period and beyond, Russia became the second key site for mass interactions among diverse Armenian groups. Initially, these involved refugees from Azerbaijan and war-torn Nagorno-Karabakh, as well as “forced migrants” from the other post-Soviet states (Georgia and Central Asian countries).

As economic hardships in Armenia itself intensified, tens of thousands of its residents began migrating to Russia as labor migrants, alongside Armenians from the above-mentioned regions for whom Armenia had served as a transit territory.

Thus, for several decades Russia has served as a meeting-ground for highly diverse Armenian groups. Armenians who have resided in Russia since imperial/Soviet times, often for multiple generations (in Krasnodar Krai, Rostov Oblast, and other re-gions), should also be added to this list.

Drawing on in-depth interviews conducted in Russia between 2018-2024, we analyze the nature, forms, and popular interpretations of intra-group tensions in comparison with similar dynamics in Armenia involving locals and Western diaspora returnees.

Our findings reveal that while socio-economic and political contexts in Russia have changed since the turbulent 1990s, tensions between different Armenians still exist, shifting from public to private domains and affecting neighborhood relations, friendships, and marriage choices. Central to these tensions is a discourse of authenticity surrounding what constitutes "true Armenianness," particularly regarding gender roles, family structures and traditions, and engagement with Armenian historical narratives.

Universal social dimensions like urban-rural divides and socio-cultural disparities also influence intra-group relationships, on a par with degrees of adherence to "traditional lifestyles". The research emphasizes the continued relevance of historical experiences and diverse socialization contexts in shaping contemporary Armenian identities in Russia.