On November 11, at 5:00 PM, the Anthropology Research Center and the Doctoral Program in Anthropology at Ilia State University will host a lecture by Maria Sakirko, PhD in Social Anthropology at the University of Cambridge, titled – “Not here and not there: The narratives of belonging among second-generation Georgian migrants in Moscow”.

This paper presents the results of my PhD research on the experiences of Georgian families who moved to Moscow after the collapse of the Soviet Union. The focus of my thesis is the formation of a sense of belonging among second-generation Georgian migrants against the backdrop of the complex geopolitical relationship between Russia and Georgia. These young people did not choose to move to Russia but have received Russian citizenship and educations, and speak Russian as a native language. At the same time, many of them grew up with essentialist articulations of identity, as their parents strove to pass on to them what they called “Georgian values” while living in emigration. In attempting to formulate their sense of belonging, many young Georgians in Moscow emphasised their feeling of in-betweenness: they did not feel fully at home in either Georgia or Russia.

Maria Sakirko has been doing PhD in Social Anthropology at the University of Cambridge (UK) since September 2020. She received her MA in Social Anthropology from Goldsmiths, University of London, in 2019, where she conducted research with Georgian migrants in London. Maria’s research focuses on memory, migration, and belonging, as well as on the development of visual methods — particularly photography — in social anthropology.

Working Language: English

Date and Time: November 11, 5:00 PM

Location: Room S507, Ilia State University, 3 G. Tsereteli Street

Attendance: Free and open to the public

2025