Russian Policies Toward Russians in Neighboring States

Since 1992, Moscow has grappled with how to address the issue of the 25 million ethnic Russians in other post-Soviet states. In order to write and speak about Russians abroad, political elites and leading intellectuals in Russia have employed three major narratives: “the Russian World,” “Russian civilization,” and “a divided people.” The Russian government has supported these narratives with concrete policy tools, including the protection of “compatriots abroad” and granting Russian citizenship to millions of people in neighboring states. Igor Zevelev presented his analysis of the proliferation of Russian citizenship in the post-Soviet space as well as its geopolitical consequences.