Research Activities
Research Projects 2023
Popuulation Movement in Post Soviet Central Asia after 2014 Ukrinian Crisis
Outline
With the collapse of the Soviet Union, a large population flow occurred in the former Soviet Union. One is the ethnic "repatriation" of Russians and others, and the other is constant migrant labor caused by economic disparities between countries. For Central Asian countries, Russia was the main recipient of migrant workers. When international sanctions came after the 2014 Ukrainian crisis, the Russian economy achieved some degree of import substitution after a period of turmoil. Labor immigration from Central Asia also continued to be significant.
But Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022 is about to bring about a much bigger change in the movement of people between former Soviet states. One is a case in which Russians engaged in economic activities moved to the former Soviet Union countries in order to avoid international financial sanctions. Another is the flow of people leaving Russia following the partial mobilization order in September. The scale of the latter movement cannot be ignored, for example, reports of soaring rental housing prices in Uzbekistan's cities. Such abrupt changes are directly caused by the situation in 2022, but in the context of Russia it would be necessary to place it in the context of the situation after the 2014 Ukraine crisis. Changes on the Central Asian countries are also important. Especially in Uzbekistan, economic and social liberalization is progressing rapidly under the Mirziyoyev administration, and some of the labor immigrants who had left for Russia are said to be returning to the country. Central Asian governments generally maintain a cautious stance toward Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and their attitude to Russia and the West is complex. In addition, over 100 years of unification under the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union have created a Russian language as a lingua franca, secular culture and a certain Russian population in urban areas. It is a cultural assumption of ease of population movement within the former Soviet Union. Based on these economic, political, and cultural factors, the purpose of this research project is to reconstruct the population migration in the former Soviet Union Central Asia especially from 2014 to 2023, and to elucidate the factors behind each movement.
The former Soviet Union area is one of the main fields of border studies, and case studies and theoretical studies targeting the area have been accumulated. With regard to population migration as well, prior research on boundaries developed after the collapse of the Soviet Union has conducted a number of theoretical studies, and this study will also make full reference to such results.
Period
April 2023 - March 2025
Members
| Role | Member |
|---|---|
| [ Organizer ] | Ueda, Akira |
Expected Outcome
- The Ajia Keizai