Emotional Roots of Russian Emigration to Finland: Belonging and Alienation

Application summary

This research is dedicated to exploring the emotional dimension of Russian emigration to Finland under various external and internal factors. Situated within the field of practical philosophy, the proposed study will focus on analysing the influence of emotions on both the decision-making process regarding immigration/relocation and the subsequent adaptation to new living conditions. To achieve this, the research will employ methods such as in-depth biographical interviews with audio and video recording, discourse analysis, analysis of verbal and nonverbal means of emotional expression, as well as mental and emotional mapping. The combination of these methods will make it possible to examine not only consciously experienced emotions but also to approach unconscious dimensions. This research will focus on Russian relocants who moved to Finland following the outbreak of the full-scale war in Ukraine in February 2022, as well as on Russian immigrants who have been permanently residing in Finland since 2013 or earlier. The theoretical foundation of the study will draw on the concepts of political emotions, belonging (emotional attachment), and alienation (emotional detachment). By integrating these frameworks, the research aims to develop a new theoretical and methodological approach to studying migration that allows for the systematic exploration of the emotional aspects of immigration/relocation. The proposed research project is expected to advance scholarly discussions in the sociology and philosophy of emotions and to enrich migration studies by differentiating between crisis-driven and long-term aspirational migration, as well as by demonstrating how emotions shape migration decisions and adaptation processes. The research findings could also offer empirically grounded insights for policymaking, both in Finland and in other countries that host Russian relocants and other migrants with similar emotional backgrounds.