The Modern Russian-Speaking Communities in the World: Formation, Assimilation and Adaptation in Host Societies

Modern Diasporas are not just historically dispersed peoples, united by common ethno-cultural roots, maintaining real or imaginary ties with their historic homelands. Modern Diasporas should be viewed as strategically vital trans-national networks with remarkable social, political and economic potential. The Russian Diaspora of today has formed in unique historical circumstances, as the consequence of the break-up of the Soviet Union, the formation of new nation-states in its place, and a massive wave of emigration from this area since the early 1990s. This paper will examine the global nature of the contemporary Russian Diaspora, both in the West and in the Far East. Focusing on the example of the USA, Finland, Cyprus, Japan and Korea, it will examine the statistical size of this Diaspora, its ambiguous ethno-cultural composition, its patterns of integration and assimilation, its forms of diasporic self-organization and support, and, finally, the creation of Diaspora-based business, professional, socio-cultural and educational networks. Furthermore, this paper will look at how these diasporic groups represent the Russian Federation abroad and the role that they increasingly play in Russian diplomacy and foreign policy.