Escaping Russia, trapped by identity: National identity negotiation in light of ingroup wrongdoing

Abstract

The Russian invasion of Ukraine caused a wave of emigration, with vast numbers of people fleeing Russia due to political persecution or safety concerns. The study explored how anti‐war Russian emigrants negotiate their national identity and moral responsibility amid ingroup wrongdoing. Previous research has shown that having a stigmatized identity can lead to self‐group distancing. Yet those studies concerned groups that can be characterized as victims of violence or discrimination, and there is a lack of research on identity performance and negotiation of people who represent perpetrator groups. We conducted semi‐structured in‐depth interviews with Russian emigrants ( N  = 12) in two rounds between March 2023 and early 2024. We analysed data using Reflexive Thematic Analysis. Participants described feelings of collective guilt and fear from identity disclosure, accompanied by a sense of vigilance in how they perform their identity in interactions. To avoid any implication that they supported the State's actions, participants tended to mitigate potential moral judgement by positioning themselves as morally aware yet lacking agency. Although participants actively disidentified from Russian identity, they still emphasized struggling with navigating collective responsibility and guilt. We discuss the implications of our findings for the potential resistance and future post‐conflict reconciliation.