Who Won the U.S. Presidential Debate?

Russia's war against Ukraine prompted hundreds of thousands of Russians to leave their country. Drawing on unique face-to-face surveys of Russian migrants in five different host countries, a new ZOiS report provides insights into the diversity of their political views and socio-economic profiles.

Of the estimated 800,000 to 900,000 Russians who left their country in the months after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, approximately 650,000 remain abroad. There is a tendency to view these migrants as a potential opposition-in-exile.

A new ZOiS report by Félix Krawatzek and Gwendolyn Sasse takes a closer look at the political attitudes of the new Russian migrants, focusing on five of the most important destination countries for Russian migration: Armenia, Georgia, Turkey, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.

It draws on face-to-face surveys of 4,300 migrants conducted in the summer of 2023 across the five countries. The findings show the huge diversity they represent in terms of their political views and socio-economic profiles. As Krawatzek emphasizes, the new Russian migrants "are best not thought of as one group, and certainly not as one big liberal exodus."

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