Belarusian immigration and the impact of past crises on the process of integration in Spain

Introduction. Processes of Russification, Chernobyl nuclear disaster, dissolution of the Soviet Union left a deep mark on the history of the Belarusian people, subjecting them to chronic migration, presented in its most diverse forms: internal ecological migration, “armchair” migration, external migration. Under consideration is the crisis of multiple identities of Belarusian immigrants, expatriates from the post-Soviet space, living in Granada (Spain), which is compared with the crisis of post-Soviet migrants living in the Russian Federation. Materials and Methods. The author uses case-study method. The method of data collection, precisely, semi-structured and in-depth interview was employed for a sample of eight Belarusian immigrants living in Granada [1]. To reveal possible similarities and differences of manifestation of crisis of multiple identities among migrants from the post-Soviet space, who have not left the territory of the Russian Federation, a research was undertaken concerning the situation of studying the issue of crisis of multiple identities among post-Soviet immigrants who live in Russia. Scientific literature and dissertations published in Russian from 2003 to 2016 were analyzed. Results and Discussion. The author reveals the concern about the development of confused identity in post-Soviet population, which is manifested as the crisis of multiple identities among Belarusian immigrants living in Granada. The development of the crisis of identity is different among population who have not migrated from the territory of the former USSR and those who have. This resulted from the implementation of different state programmes for cross-cultural integration. In Russia, programmes for cultivating civic consciousness and patriotism are introduced, in immigrants’ environment (Spain) - programmes for acculturation. Post-Soviet population who live in the Commonwealth of Independent States is in the process of formation of their new identity in accordance with new social, cultural, ethnical, national and territorial standards. In Russia, a dangerous substitution of local identity by the global one is eradicated via policy of patriotic education. Conclusions. Multiple influence of crises, lack of sense of security of the life project lead to confused identity considered as the confrontation with socio-cultural values and norms of the new post-Soviet environment, which gives rise to anomy, alienation and marginalization. The crisis of multiple identities among post-Soviet population is primarily revealed in manifestation of national, territorial, cultural, social and language identity at the cognitive, emotional, behavioural and ethno-differential levels both in the country of immigration and the country of origin.