Pride and prejudice: young Finnish-Russian dual citizens and perceptions of Russia

Abstract

ABSTRACT Finnish-Russian dual citizens are the largest group of multiple citizens in Finland. Building on thematic interviews and drawing on Sara Ahmed’s work on cultural politics of emotions, this paper examines how emotions related to Russia and Russianness influence the way young Finnish-Russian dual citizens perceive their status and opportunities in Finland. The findings imply that emotions indeed play a significant role in shaping the way the young dual citizens use their citizenships. Due to the negative emotions related to Russia, many dual citizens tend to conceal or control their Russianness in public spaces. As a result, dual citizens’ Russianness is increasingly becoming a private matter, whereas in the public sphere they aim at improving their status by trying to pass or act as Finns. Conceptually, this paper draws attention to the momentary and contextual nature of belonging. Depending on the context, an individual’s sense of belonging can rapidly change from feeling at home to feeling out of place.