What is it about?
The number of Russian immigrants to Finland has already been steadily increasing since 1990 when President of Finland launched an initiative aimed at facilitating repatriation of Ingrian Finns living in the territories incorporated into the USSR. Today Russian-speaking immigrants account for approximately 1.3% of Finland's population. The segmented assimilation theory encourages one to explore the lived experiences of the second-generation immigrants. The article analyses the data of qualitative interviews conducted within the framework of the fieldwork carried out in the central part of Finland, from 1 October to 31 December 2021.
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Why is it important?
Despite active research aimed at the Russian immigrant community in Finland, it has rarely focused on the second-generation immigrants. The issue of how Russian young people, who moved to Finland in early childhood or were born soon after their parents' immigration, feel and what they have experienced has not been analyzed. Given the relevance of this issue, an ethnographic study among Russian immigrant youth has been conducted.
Perspectives
Young people speaking Russian in a family and being part of groups where Russian is a tool of communication and inter-generational transmission of cultural traditions were selected for inter-views. The empirical data resulting from the study conducted in Finland provide an insight into the factors that have contributed to migration the families from the perspective of young people. Applying the concept of identity as “moveable feast”, this article focuses on the process of self-identification depending, first, on dynamics between the inherited and obtained identity, second, on the identity level (ethnicity, nationality, global identity) where these dynamics are present.
Prof. Anita Stasulane
Daugavpils Universitate
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Migration and Youth: The Lived Experiences of Russian Youth in Finland, Social Sciences, April 2024, MDPI AG,
DOI: 10.3390/socsci13040201.
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