Successful Immigrants from Russia and Ukraine in Frankfurt am Main (Germany)

Abstract

The article is based on the author`s study conducted in Frankfurt am Main in the summer of 2013; the study was devoted to the successful immigrants from Russia and Ukraine who currently live in Germany and hold solid job positions (i.e. jobs requiring higher education diplomas). The empirical data was twenty semi-structured interviews with immigrants. The Goethe Institute - Frankfurt staff members, bank employees and representatives of the business community took part in the survey. The interview involved the following topics: personal migration and professional profile; reasons behind the desire to relocate to Germany; adaptation and social integration in Germany and Frankfurt am Main; everyday life in Frankfurt; respondent`s communications. The author provides analysis of the reasons and channels of migration, the background of migrants and the character of social and territorial links. The factors that influence the intensity and type of territorial links were revealed. The answers are given to the following questions: How actively do immigrants from Ukraine and Russia maintain economic, social, cultural and political contacts with the countries of origin? Are they ready to use the cultural capital obtained in Germany in the country of origin? Can we talk about the “brain circulation” regarding the highly skilled migrants? The basic factors defining the type of social and territorial ties of migrants were also defined. The key conclusions of the author are as follows: depending on the channel and motives for migration, different groups of successful immigrants are engaged in transnational interactions with the country of origin. Those who are most active in cross-national interactions are migrants who use individual channels of migration and who came to Germany to study or as a researcher. Ethnic migrants take part in cross-border interactions in a different way (depending on their socio-cultural belonging).