DANYLIW RESEARCH SEMINAR ON CONTEMPORARY UKRAINE

Risky Commutes: Wartime Mobility to and from
Russian-Occupied Territories

The paper examines circular mobilities to and from Ukraine’s territories under Russian occupation. It focuses on how danger, uncertainty, at the Russian border crossing but not only, shape Ukrainian travellers’ interactions with transport companies, fellow passengers, border guards, and Russian security services. The mobility is both “staged” by (potentially) hostile actors and “performed” from below by passengers themselves. Through this lens, It shows how risk-laden journeys undertaken in an atmosphere of pervasive suspicion produce a distinctive social world among commuters.

Sophie Lambroschini is a historian and social scientist at CERCEC/EHESS in Paris.

INTERVIEW