Symbolic and social boundaries of the integration of Russian immigrants in Czechia

Abstract

This article focuses on the integration process of Russian immigrants into Czech society. The integration of immigrants into Czech society is a key topic in the public debate as well as a political issue. Ukrainians, Slovaks, Vietnamese, and Russians are the most numerous groups within the half-million migrant population. Czechia is therefore predominantly attractive to non-EU immigrants. Representing highly educated and financially well-secured migrants who come as entire families, the Russians are distinct from other Eastern European immigrants. However, various factors hinder their integration. The article discusses the factors that shape symbolic and social boundaries in this integration process: (1) the development of Czech-Russian relationships that have been influenced by dramatic past events, (2) the representation of Russians in Czech media, (3) their specific socioeconomic status, and (4) Czech immigration and integration policies. Negative experience, socioeconomic inequalities, strict implementation of immigration policies towards third-country immigrants, and an unfavourable media discourse affect the attitudes of the majority toward the Russians and limit meaningful encounters. KEYWORDS symbolic and social boundaries; immigration and integration policies; media discourse; Russian immigrants; Czechia

Spatial Incorporation of Multiple Immigrant Groups in Gateway Cities: Comparative Analysis of Sydney, Barcelona, and Prague

“…The spatial pattern of Britons is shown in Figure 8, and the LISA maps for other groups would be very similar. The node for Russians lies between the aforementioned clusters since Russians were partly dispersed across the city and, given their relatively high socio-economic status, in attractive localities (Ignatyeva 2020). Smaller groups that were also only concentrated in these localities—and, thus, had a low spatial relatedness to the majority and CEE groups—are further to the bottom-right of Figure 7 (e.g., Thais, Koreans, and Japanese).…”