Ot “russkikh finnov” k “finskim russkim”: konstruirovaniie identichnosti immigrantov v (trans)natsional’nykh kontekstakh

Abstract

The article discusses the shaping of identity of Russian-language migrants in Finland in the context of changing immigration policies. The author focuses on the discourses of “Finnishness” and “Russianness”, their interaction since the early 1990s to the present, and their impact on sentiments and identities of the migrants. As the policy of favoring “ethnically privileged” migrants recedes, so does the importance of “Finnishness” as the primary factor that determines the degree to which a migrant is considered “fit” for life in the Finnish society. Since the labor migration becomes the principal migration channel and the policy of multiculturalism strengthens, the “Russianness” and “speaking Russian” become increasingly acceptable identities in the heterogeneous milieu of the migrants.