Between Fear and Resistance: How Russian Fulbright Students Navigate War, Identity, and Exile

• In Event: In the Margins of Memory: Gender and Historical Narratives in Central and Eastern Europe

Abstract

This paper explores how Russian Fulbright students narrate their experiences of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine and navigate questions of national identity, civic engagement, and exile. Through a qualitative analysis of their narratives, this study examines how gender and sexual identity shape their responses to the war, revealing tensions between fear, resistance, and belonging in the context of authoritarian repression.

Author

• Violetta Soboleva, CUNY Graduate Center