"Living in limbo": Digital narratives of migrants fleeing Russia after the Russian invasion of Ukraine

Abstract

Since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine more than one million Russian citizens have left Russia. This Russian migration is a political protest against Vladimir Putin’s regime — people are leaving due to their opposition to the war, persecution by authorities, and fear of mobilization — and are writing about this migration online. Despite fulfilling the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees (1951 Refugee Convention or the Geneva Convention of 28 July 1951) conditions, these Russian migrants have not yet received international recognition, and most live in total uncertainty in poor countries in the South Caucasus and Central Asia with temporary visas and no possibility of entering Europe. This paper has two purposes. The first is to describe this group of migrants that challenges the definition of who is a refugee, in the context of this specific military conflict. The second purpose is to examine digital narratives published by these Russian migrants, characterized by a sense of living in uncertainty.