Russian Diasporas of the Near Abroad in the Post-Perestroika Period: Phantom or Reality?

Following the collapse of the USSR, a significant number of Soviet citizens not belonging to the titular nations of these countries found themselves in the territories of the newly formed states. This article aims to establish the extent to which the concept of “diaspora” is applicable to the Russian communities that lived in these territories during this period. The migration processes of today contribute to the replenishment of countries bordering on the Russian Federation with people of a different formation, at the same time helping the Russian abroad survive as a phenomenon, which makes the topic relevant. The work draws on legislative acts and other official documents of the state authorities, also referring to published interviews with Russian-speaking residents of these regions (both those living there and those who have returned to Russia). To date, the issue of the concept of “diaspora” is debatable. Without polemizing on this issue, the author bases the study not on the concept itself, but on its characteristics and key features shared by most scholars. The author gives a brief overview of the attitude of the Russian state to this category of population and to the problem of diasporas itself. Showing their transformation in the 1990s, the author concludes that it is inappropriate to apply this notion to the Russians of the near abroad in the above-mentioned period. Instead, the concept of “Russian-speaking communities” seems more appropriate, which does not deny the possibility of further transformation of the community into a diaspora.