Influx of Ukrainian, Russian and Belarusian Migrants

The INFLUX project provides policy-relevant research on the integration of refugees from Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia into the Baltic and Nordic states. It examines how Ukrainian, Russian, and Belarusian refugees are received, settled, and integrated into their host societies.

Project Lead: Liv Osland
Project Co-Lead: Cathrine Talleraas
Project Owner: Western Norway University of Applied Sciences

Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, millions of migrants from Ukraine have been forced to flee their homes and seek refuge. Among the new flow migrants, there are also Rusians and Belarusians, who are facing increased oppression in their home countries. A large number of migrants have fled to the Nordic and Baltic countries, where the Ukrainian refugees have been granted group asylum.

This project examines the integration of, and governance structures relating to, the influx of Ukrainian, Russian and Belarusian migrants in the short-, medium-, and long-term in Nordic and Baltic countries. By understanding these dynamics, the project seeks to improve related integration policies in the host countries. INFLUX examines these issues in Norway, Sweden, Finland, Estonia, and Lithuania.

In the Nordics, where the majority of previous refugee flows have originated from further afield, there appears to be a change in the overall reception and integration structures in response to the Ukrainians, who are geographically and culturally closer to Nordic countries. Parallelly, the Baltic states are in a new position as migrant destinations and have launched ad hoc structures supported by civil society to establish accommodation and integration mechanisms.

Across these highly different contexts, the sudden influx of Ukrainian, Russian and Belarusian migrants has strained existing reception structures and challenged integration capacities. It is therefore of crucial importance to understand how these states have responded to the abrupt new migration dynamics, and the related outcomes for the migrants.

If you want to read about the project on HVL's webpage, have a look here.

This work was (partly) supported by NordForsk through the funding to 'Influx of Ukrainian, Russian and Belarusian Migrants: Integration and Governance Dynamics in Nordic and Baltic States', project number 161678.  The project timeframe is May 2023 - October 2024.