
We are happy to share the programme of an international workshop co-hosted by the Institute for Social and Cultural Research:
International Workshop
Approaching the Exodus: Tensions and Cooperation in Emerging Communities in the South Caucasus After the Russian Full-Scale Invasion of Ukraine
12-13th November, 2023
Day 1: November 12
Venue: Ilia State University, G. Tsereteli St 3, room S 507
9:30 – 9:45: Registration
9:45 – 10:00: Opening Remarks: Mariam Darchiashvili, Olga Bronnikova, Sofia Gavrilova
10:00 – 11:15: Opening Discussion: Exploring Russian Migration in Georgia: Current Research and Prospects for Future Studies
Chair: Mariam Darchiashvili, Ilia State University
- Givi Silagadze (CRRC, Georgia)
- Florian Mühlfried (Ilia State University, Georgia)
- Giorgi Lomsadze (Eurasianet, Georgia)
11:15 – 11:35: Coffee Break
11:35 – 13:15: Panel 1: Conflicts and Tensions Between the Emerging Communities
Chair: Ketevan Gurchiani, Ilia State University
- Gaëlle Le Pavic (Ghent University, Belgium): The Reactivation of the Georgia-Abkhazia De Facto Border in the Context of Russia’s War in Ukraine: An Ethnographic Study of the Shifting Social Dynamics in the Borderland”
- Tsypylma Darieva (ZOIS, Germany): From Hostility to Pragmatic Hospitality: Georgian-Russian Encounters in Tbilisi’s Housing Market
- Sofia Gavrilova (Leibniz Institute for Regional Geography, Germany): Russians, Go Home: Towards Understanding Russian (Neo)Imperialism in Tbilisi
- Lilit Dabagian (Bishkek-based Independent Public History Researcher, Kyrgyzstan): Russian Exiles in Kyrgyzstan: Physical Mobility, Intergroup Encounters, and the Renegotiation of (Post)Colonial Legacies”
13:15 – 14:15: Lunch Break
14:15 – 15:55: Panel 2: Activism and Integration
Chair: Sophie Zviadadze, Ilia State University
- Vlada Baranova (Nordost Institut, Germany): Local Activism Among Russian Migrants: Agency Display and Everyday Problem Solving
- Ekaterina Chigaleichik (Exodus-22): Georgia, Armenia — Russian Influx. Formation of Norms of Communication and Behavior: Who Makes the Rules of the Game?
- David Rype (University College London, UK): Russo-Georgian Queer Encounters in the Post-February 2022 Tbilisi
- Tea Kamushadze (GIPA; Tbilisi State University, Georgia): Influences of the Russo-Ukrainian War on Georgia: Russian Voices in the Urban Space of Tbilisi
15:55 – 16:15: Coffee Break
16:15 – 17:30: Discussion: “On the positionality”
Chairs: Sofia Gavrilova (Leibniz Institute for Regional Geography, Germany), Olga Bronnikova (ILCEA4, Université Grenoble Alpes, France), Mariam Darchiashvili (Ilia State University, Georgia), Kateryna Ihnatenko (Ilia State University, Georgia)
18:00: Dinner for Workshop Participants
Day 2: November 13
Venue: Ilia State University, G. Tsereteli St 3, room S 507
10:00 – 11:40: Panel 3: Solidarity and Tensions in New Migrant Communities
Chair: Tsypylma Darieva, ZOIS, Germany
- Tatiana Golova (ZOIS, Germany): Being from Russia and Being Pro Ukraine: The Challenges of Performing Political Identities
- Anna Zaytseva (University of Toulouse, France): Wartime immigrants’ “third places” in Tbilisi: what kind of links and commitment?
- Alexey Voronkov (Ben Gurion, Israel): Collective Identities in Russian Emigrant Communities: A Comparison of Five Host Countries
- Alice Bakradze (Ilia State University, Social Justice Center, Georgia): Displacement & Cross-Cultural Solidarity: Ukrainian Refugees & Russian Activists in Georgia
11:40 – 12:00: Coffee Break
12:00 – 13:40: Panel 4: Problems of Inclusion and Minority Rights in Immigrant Communities
Chair: Tamar Khoshtaria, Ilia State University, CRRC Georgia
- Anna Ter-Saakova (CISR Yerevan): Armenian Women Who Repatriated to Armenia
- Talia Koliak (University of Oxford): Russian LGBTQ+ in Georgia
- Kateryna Ihnatenko (Ilia State University, Georgia): Social Integration of Refugees with Disabilities in Urban Environment
- Xandie (Alexandra) Kuenning (International Master’s Student in Central and East European, Russian and Eurasian Studies, Ilia State University / University of Glasgow / University of Tartu): Georgian and Russian LGBTQ+ Communities in Georgia and Armenia
Please note that participants in the panels have a 15-minute slot for their presentation, followed by a 40-minute question and answer session after every four talks.
If you’d like to join the workshop, please contact us at the following email address: mariam.darchiashvili@iliauni.edu.ge
Organizing committee: Mariam Darchiashvili (Ilia State University), Olga Bronnikova (ILCEA4, Université Grenoble Alpes), Sofia Gavrilova (Leibniz Institute for Regional Geography)