Georgia as Transient Space and Talent Harbor for Russian and Belarusian IT Specialists

Martin Geiger () and Vera Syrakvash
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Martin Geiger: Carleton University
Vera Syrakvash: Polish Academy of Sciences

Journal of International Migration and Integration, 2023, vol. 24, issue 5, No 8, 957-978

Abstract: Abstract Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, Georgia experienced a mass influx of more than three hundred thousand Russian and several thousand Belarusian citizens. Among these arrivals were many specialists with skills and previous work experience in the information technology (IT) sector who arrived in Georgia as the country’s IT sector started to develop a growing demand for these specialists. Drawing on recent debates on ‘arrival spaces’ and the concept of ‘transient spaces’ as reported by Bork-Hüffer et al. (Population, Space and Place 22(2): 128–145, 2016) and Bork-Hüffer & Peth (Urban Planning 5(3): 33–43, 2020), this article examines the arrival of Russian and Belarusian IT specialists and their evolving inclusion in the local society and IT economy. Based on semi-structured interviews with Russian and Belarusian IT specialists and stakeholders in Georgia’s IT sector, as well as local and international media reports, the article identifies Georgia as a new arrival space, yet also as a ‘transient space’ characterized by socio-political tensions, uncertainties, and untapped economic opportunities.

Keywords: Skilled migration; Arrival spaces; Transient spaces; IT sector; Development; Georgia; Russia’s war on Ukraine (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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DOI: 10.1007/s12134-023-01082-0

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