The Role of Religion, Identity and Discrimination in the Acculturation of Russian-speakers Living in Finland

The acculturation of Russian-speakers, one of Europe’s largest minorities, has been the focus of academic and public attention since the fall of the Soviet Union. In recent years, their situation has been complicated by the growing tensions in the EU-Russia relations. Existing research has suggested that the importance of religion may become highlighted in the lives of migrants and other cultural minorities, particularly in times of difficulties, yet religion’s role in acculturation of minority groups in general and Russian-speakers in particular remains largely unexplored. Against this backdrop, this thesis examines the acculturation of Finland’s Russian-speaking minority through the prism of religion, identity, and discrimination. Using a mixed methods design where extensive qualitative fieldwork (participant observation, in-depth interviews) is complemented with a country-wide survey (224 respondents randomly sampled from all Finnish residents who have indicated Russian as their native language), it highlights the internal diversity of the Russian-speaking minority and the need for an intersectional approach to acculturation. The thesis shows that religion - conceptualised as believing, belonging, practising and participating - plays a more significant role in the lives of Finland’s Russian-speakers than is suggested by official statistics of low religious membership and highlights five domains through which religion relates to acculturation: practical support, identity construction and maintenance, social adaptation, psychological adaptation, and as a buffer against difficulties. At the same time, the thesis argues that the role of faith and religion in the acculturation of Finland’s Russian-speakers cannot be fully understood without examining their experiences of othering and discrimination as well as the variety and mixture of local, ethnic, national and supranational identifications salient among the members of this diverse and growing minority group