Russian transnational migrant communities as agents of cooperation and integration?

The aim of this paper is to provide, firstly, an overview of the Russian diaspora and migration policies in the post-Soviet era. In this context, Russian migration policy towards its compatriots has been briefly evaluated in view of the EU expansion eastwards. Secondly, we aim at sketching a profile of the Russian migrant communities in Switzerland in light of the broader and historical presence of Russians in Europe. Thirdly, the short analysis attempts at evaluating the potential of the Russian communities as agents of cooperation as well as integration for Russian migrants in Switzerland. The paper builds on the body of literature that pertains to the transnational approach in migration studies and it relies both on available official statistics, former research and secondary sources. Russians remain, overall, understudied in Switzerland. Therefore further empirical research is needed.