Kin Majorities: Identity and Citizenship in Crimea and Moldova

The number of dual citizens in Moldova has risen exponentially in the last decades, with many seeing Russia as granting citizenship to or passportizing large numbers in Crimea. Kin Majorities explores why these communities engage with dual citizenship and how this intersects with identity, analyzing data collected from ordinary people in Crimea and Moldova in 2012 and 2013. It finds that the discourse and practice of Russian citizenship was largely absent in Crimea before annexation, and that identity helps explain the difference between Romanian citizenship in Moldova and Russian citizenship in Crimea.

Format: Hardback
Length: 376 pages
Publication date: 15 August 2022
Publisher: McGill-Queen's University Press

In Moldova, the number of dual citizens has surged significantly in recent decades, with many attributing this growth to Russia's citizenship granting or passportization practices in Crimea, both regions with significant kin majorities. As functioning citizens of their respective states, kin majorities do not typically need to acquire citizenship from another state. However, a significant number of them choose to do so.
Kin Majorities delves into the reasons behind these communities' engagement with dual citizenship and examines how it intersects, or not, with their identity. Drawing on data collected from ordinary individuals in Crimea and Moldova in 2012 and 2013, just before Russia's annexation of Crimea, Eleanor Knott provides a valuable insight into Russian identification during a period of relative calm. Surprisingly, the discourse and practice of Russian citizenship were largely absent in Crimea prior to annexation. Knott compares the situation in Crimea with the strong presence of Romanian citizenship in Moldova, shedding light on why Romanian citizenship was more prevalent and popular in Moldova than Russian citizenship in Crimea, and to what extent identity plays a role in explaining these differences.
Kin Majorities offers a fresh and nuanced perspective on how citizenship interacts with cross-border and local identities, with significant implications for the politics of geography, nation, and kin-states, as well as broader understandings of post-Soviet politics. By examining these rarely researched cases from the ground up, Knott contributes to our understanding of the complex dynamics between citizenship, identity, and regional politics in the post-Soviet space.

Weight: 706g
Dimension: 165 x 238 x 32 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780228011507