Authors
Tsypylma Darieva1; Tatiana Golova1; Daria Skibo1; 1 Centre for East European and International Studies, Germany Discussion
Transnational pro-democracy engagement of migrants, often in the context of broader “post-Soviet” networks, began long before Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. However, the war and related authoritarian shifts in Russia pushed political and civic activists out of the country and motivated some people in the diaspora to become more engaged. The presentation focuses on national cases of Georgia and Germany and different forms of anti-war activism: political, civic, and humanitarian. The analysis is based on in-depth interviews with activists, expert interviews, social media analysis, and participant observation. While both countries are important destinations for politically active Russian citizens, their different migration regimes affect political remittances. Humanitarian aid for Ukrainian refugees and “relocation assistance“ for activists in danger became major fields of engagement in both countries, but migration-related activism in Germany addresses national legal regulations, with activists being involved in the implementation. Activism among the Russian migrants is directed less at recipients in the home country and more at the diasporic networks as well as (in the case of Germany) at political actors and civil society in the host country. The political migration from Russia cannot be described in binary terms, but is multidirectional and transnational, both in relation to individual paths and to the project of “Russian civil society in exile”. 
