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Paper short abstract

Based on over 90 interviews with post-2022 Russian migrants residing in 6 countries, we examine how transnational fear of the Russian state is structured and experienced, paying special attention to how socio-economic situations of our informants condition their emotional states.

Paper long abstract

Many Russian citizens have left Russia following its invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Due to their physical distance from the repressive state with its intensified ‘politics of fear,’ they might appear to be relatively safe. However, recent research suggests that Russian migrants’ perception of spaces of vulnerability does not coincide with national borders and is more complex, whereby fear of Russia continues to affect their well-being abroad. We contribute to this strand of research by analyzing multi-scalar triggers of fear of the Russian state among post-2022 migrants and their attempts to navigate this fear, paying special attention to how socio-economic situations of our informants condition their emotional states. Drawing on the anthropology of emotions and transnational authoritarianism research, we place fear at the center of analysis, demonstrating how transnational repressions are experienced from below. Empirically, we analyze over 90 semi-structured interviews with Russians residing in 6 countries (Armenia, Georgia, Serbia, Turkey, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan). Our research reveals that perceived proximity to Russia – relational and not simply physical – plays a pivotal role in triggering fear of the state among Russian migrants, while the unpredictable repressive politics of the Russian state and the overall precarity of migration journeys exacerbate their anxieties. Analysing these emotional experiences against the backdrop of our informants’ socio-economic positions, we highlight how transnational privileges and vulnerabilities intertwine in the context of forced migration. Finally, we identify multiple scenarios of navigation through fear and highlight how they transform migrants’ political participation, citizenship strategies, and visions of the future.