TY - JOUR T1 - Kazakh Homecomings: Between Politics, Culture and Identity JF - Central and Eastern European Migration Review Y1 - 2019 A1 - Nowicka, Ewa KW - adaptation KW - homecoming KW - Kazakhstan KW - repatriation KW - return migration AB -

This article is devoted to contemporary return migrations by Kazakhs – a process of great significance for the population and cultural policies of the government of independent Kazakhstan. I examine the repatriation process of the Kazakh population from the point of view of the cultural transformations of Kazakh society itself, unveiling the intended and unintended effects of these return migrations. The case of the Kazakh returns is a historically unique phenomenon, yet it provides data permitting the formulation of broader generalisations. It illustrates the dual impact of culturally different environments, which leads to a simultaneous preserving and changing of the culture of the new immigrants. The analyses found in this article are based upon data collected during two periods of fieldwork conducted in June–July 2016 and March 2018 at several locations in Kazakhstan and in cooperation with a Kazakh university. The research methodology is anchored in multi-sited, multi-year fieldwork.

VL - 9 CP - 2 EP -

123

U2 -

15 April 2019

U3 -

31 December 2019

U4 -

31 December 2019

SP - 109 ER -