The role of Russia as a kin-state in protecting the Russian minority in Ukraine

The collapse of the Soviet Union led to a situation in which Russians living in former republics of the USSR, including Ukraine, became national minorities – so-called “compatriots”. Russia had no experience of networking with compatriots abroad, even though that was the Soviet thinking. Nowadays, Russia is a dominant, strong and powerful state with a kin-state interest in Ukraine, maintaining a unique post-Soviet position.

Related Subject(s): Migration

Countries: Russian Federation ; Ukraine