Emerging Russian Diasporas: Exploring New Dynamics and (Im)Mobilisation Patterns
The ERDAM Conference 2025 will bring together researchers from diverse fields, along with activists, policymakers, and media representatives, to examine the evolving patterns of migration from Russia and Belarus in Europe and Eurasia. As we approach the end of 2025, more than three years after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the conference will reassess the political mobilisation of migrants from these countries, exploring how recent migration waves have generated new east-west and north-south trajectories. Moving beyond traditional economic and ethnic discussions, the conference will highlight the political dimensions of migration, examining how rising authoritarianism, securitisation of migration, and growing transnational repression shape emerging diasporic networks and political engagement. The event will delve into the challenges and opportunities that these communities face in navigating their identities, activism, and solidarity in the context of conflict, repression, and shifting political landscapes. Ultimately, the conference aims to advance our understanding of how state policies, both at home and abroad, influence diasporic responses, and how these migrant communities could play a role in democratic resistance and peacebuilding efforts.
Programme
Day 1. Thursday, 25 September 2025
16:00–17:30, “In-Conversation with…” Russia’s Wartime Migrants: Solidarity, Disengagement and Internal Divisions, Semi-closed session, conference room 1-2
Susanne Bygnes (University of Bergen), Joanna Fomina (Polish Academy of Sciences), Tatiana Golova (ERDAM), Margarita Zavadskaya (Finnish Institute of International Affairs), moderation: Tsypylma Darieva (ZOiS)
17:30–18:00, Coffee break, ZOiS lobby
18:00–19:30, ZOiS Forum “Political Repressions in Russia”, public event, ZOiS library In Russian, with simultaneous German interpretation
Denis Shedov (OVD-Info), Evi Chayka (EQUAL PostOst), Stephan Dudeck (University of Tartu), moderation: Tatiana Golova (ERDAM)
19:30, Reception, ZOiS lobby
Day 2. Friday, 26 September 2025
9:30–11:10, Panel 1. Diasporic Mobilities and Ambivalent Agency, conference room 1-2
Susanne Bygnes (University of Bergen)
Russian Migrants Between Democratic Ideals and Avoiding Politics
Bahar Baser (Durham University)
Precarious Mobilities: Russian Diaspora Politics in Turkey
Tsypylma Darieva (ZOiS)
(Im)mobilising in Transnational Space: Migrants’ Activism and Disengagement in Georgia
‘OutRush’ researchers
Reversing Brain Drain from Autocracies: How Autocratic Incentives, Regime Change, and Hostland Conditions Shape the Return of Political Emigrants
Chair: Félix Krawatzek (ZOiS)
11:00–11:30, Coffee break, ZOiS lobby
11:30–13:00, Panel 2. Migrant Interactions in Host Countries, conference room 1-2
Yuliana Melkumyan (Yerevan State University)
Integration of Russian Immigrants in Armenia: The Impact of Relocation in Host Society
Vadim Romashov (University of Eastern Finland)
In-Visibilized Minority and Societal Militarization: Everyday Insecurities and Political Mobilization of Russian Speakers in Finland
Tatiana Golova (ERDAM) and Galina Selivanova (FernUni Hagen)
Generations of Migrant Activists from Russia: The Impact of WarInduced Migration
Chair: Inta Mieriņa (University of Latvia)
13:00–14:00, Lunch, ZOiS lobby
14:00–15:30, Panel 3. Comparative Perspectives: Russia and Belarus, conference room 1-2
Olga Bronnikova and Tatyana Shukan (Bordeaux Montaigne University)
Facing Repression in Exile. A Comparative Perspective on the Trajectories and Experiences of Belarusian and Russian Exiles in Georgia
Olga Gille-Belova (Bordeaux Montaigne University)
The Educational Strategies of Belarusian Parents in Exile
Christian Fröhlich (Institute for Peace Research and Security Policy at the University of Hamburg)
Negotiating the “Other”: Identity Construction and Intergroup Interaction after Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine
Chair: Diana Rafailova (SCRIPTS)
15:30–16:00, Coffee break, ZOiS lobby
16:00–17:30, Roundtable. What Comes Next?, conference room 1-2
Margarita Zavadskaya (Finnish Institute of International Affairs), Inta Mieriņa (University of Latvia), Guri Tyldum (Fafo Foundation, Oslo), Vlada Baranova (University of Hamburg), ‘OutRush’ researcher, Gwendolyn Sasse (ZOiS), moderation: Tsypylma Darieva (ZOiS)
18:30, Dinner, Restaurant „Augustiner am Gendarmenmarkt“, Charlottenstraße 55, 10117 Berlin
