Le dinamiche politiche e sociali della comunità russa in Georgia post-2022
Il caso studio di Tbilisi
Abstract
The 2022 invasion of Ukraine, accompanied by intensified domestic repression in Russia and the announcement of partial mobilization, triggered the exodus of nearly one million Russian citizens. Among the main destinations is Georgia, which provides a fertile ground for studying the new Russian diaspora due to its complex socio-political context and the historically conflictual relationship between the Caucasian country and Russia. This article aims to investigate, through the Georgian case, how individual migration experiences intersect with collective ones, and how these experiences – together with activism in exile – can foster the construction of an alternative Russian identity, distinct from that promoted by the regime. The first section reconstructs, through the analysis of existing literature, the socio-demographic profile of the migrants, the motivations behind their departure after February 2022, and the main destinations of the diaspora. The second section describes the emergence of a new Russian community in Georgia, analyzing its shared values and emotional dynamics, while the third focuses on forms of political participation and social mobilization. These themes are explored through excerpts from interviews conducted in Tbilisi between September and December 2023 with Russian activists who emigrated in 2022.
open access | peer reviewed
Submitted: Sept. 11, 2025 | Accepted: Nov. 25, 2025 | Published Feb. 27, 2026 | Language: it
Keywords Georgia • Russian migration • Exile • Identity • War against Ukraine • Civil society
Copyright © 2026 Antonella Aloia. This is an open-access work distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction is permitted, provided that the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. The license allows for commercial use. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
Permalink http://doi.org/10.30687/979-12-5742-027-7/008