"Vom Erfüllen und Scheitern der Hoffnung, als Deutsche unter Deutschen zu leben. Russlanddeutsche in Bayern": Article by Nino Aivazishvili-Gehne

Nino Aivazishvili-Gehne: Vom Erfüllen und Scheitern der Hoffnung, als Deutsche unter Deutschen zu leben. Russlanddeutsche in Bayern, IOS-Mitteilungen Nr. 72, 24 S., April 2026.

In the series IOS-Mitteilungen, Nino Aivazishvili-Gehne presents preliminary findings from an ongoing field research project that has been conducted in Bavaria since March 2024. The focus is on processes of politicized identity formation among “Russian Germans”—ethnically German immigrants from the republics of the former Soviet Union—from the 1990s to the present.

The publication is divided into three brief thematic analyses: on state integration measures for “late repatriates” and their implementation in practice; on community strategies of older women from the former USSR during wartime; and on questions of belonging in the post-Soviet migration context.

The research is being conducted within the framework of the research center “Culture and Memory: Displaced Persons and Immigrants in Bavaria” at the IOS and is funded by the Free State of Bavaria.