Abstract
The large-scale emigration of Russian citizens following the political developments of 2022 has attracted growing scholarly attention. While existing research has primarily focused on the legal, political, and institutional dimensions of forced migration, comparatively less attention has been devoted to the experience of family adaptation after relocation. This article examines politically motivated emigration as a family-centered social process rather than an individual act of migration.
Using a qualitative analytical approach, the study explores recurring patterns observed in the experiences of Russian political emigrant families during the initial stages of adaptation abroad. The analysis draws upon personal testimonies, interviews, legal materials, reports of international organizations, migration research, and observations from Russian-speaking emigrant communities available by the end of 2024. Rather than measuring the prevalence of particular experiences, the study identifies common mechanisms shaping psychological adjustment, changing family roles, children’s adaptation, and the maintenance of transnational family relationships.
The findings suggest that adaptation following politically motivated emigration extends far beyond legal residence or economic integration. Families must simultaneously reconstruct everyday routines, redistribute responsibilities, support children’s adjustment, maintain emotional connections with relatives remaining in Russia, and make long-term decisions under conditions of continuing uncertainty. Adaptation therefore emerges as a collective family process rather than a series of individual experiences.
The article argues that understanding politically motivated migration through the family provides a broader sociological perspective on forced migration and contributes to the study of long-term social integration under conditions of political displacement. The conceptual framework proposed here may also assist future comparative research examining family adaptation in other contexts of politically motivated migration.
Keywords:
Forced migration; political emigration; family adaptation; Russian emigrants; psychological adaptation; social integration; transnational families; migration sociology; family sociology; qualitative research
Author:
Gulnara Idrisova
ORCID: 0009-0006-9996-3684
DOI: pending
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