The 2020 Covid-19 global pandemic has exacerbated social and economic struggles in Central Asia while strengthening Russia and China’s grasp over the region. While stronger relations with Russia and China can help the five governments of Central Asia appear more legitimate, little progress will be gained for the people of Central Asia. Migrant laborers will […]
Russia
Assimilation and Belonging: Identity in Migrant Accounts
In our very first class, we discussed why migration tends to elicit such big emotions. Why is the topic of migration, for example, such an emotive political issue in the United States? De Haas says that migration is contentious and emotive because it conjures up themes of belonging and identity, both of which are very […]
“Dirty Labor”: Construction Workers in Russia
Why do migrants work in jobs that natives shun? And why do natives resent them for it? In many of the cases we have studied so far, there seems to be a disconnect between the economic realities of a country and the attitudes of its citizens. In the case of Russia, we see that migrant […]