The effects of Russia-Turkey crisis on mixed families in İstanbul: Hearing the voices of women

After 1990’s, Russia-Turkey migration system has developed and a great number of Russian women and Turkish men have started to cross the border for various purposes. Within this mobility, new social, culturel, economic and political realities have emerged. One of the most important realities is increasing of Russian-Turkish couples and their important roles on the Russia-Turkey migration system. Just like Ley and Waters (2004) said, migrants not only move from one place to another, but also move from one set of social relations to another. In this context, I'd like to mention about what has happened in lives of mixed families in İstanbul after an aircraft belonging to Russian Federation Air Forces was shoot-down by Turkish Air Forces on the November 24th, 2015. This study based on interviews with marriage migrants, their couples and representatives of Russian institutions in İstanbul. In conclusion, the crisis between Russia and Turkey has affected lives of Russian women in İstanbul both negative and positive ways. These women are foreigners in Turkey and their limited social environments have imprisoned them to a narrow area during the crisis. But they have tried to bring into connection with two parts of the crisis and have tried to stand between Turkey and Russia by using their institutional networks which also have supported their collective identities.

Keywords:

Russia-Turkey Crisis Marriage Migration, Mixed Families,

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