What do Germans of Russian and Turkish migration background think about sanctions against Russia?

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has significant implications not only for foreign, defence, economic and energy policies of European democracies, but also for their societal cohesion. While the debates about sanctions against Russia are mainly structured along partisan lines, with supporters of far-left and far-right parties tending to be against harsh responses, we argue that also a specific migrant background and an ethnic identity matter for the position on this highly salient and polarizing issue. Using original survey data from Germany, we find that respondents with a Russian or a Turkish ethnic background are less in favour of sanctions against Russia. This finding remains robust when considering respondents’ party preferences, education level, age, religious affiliation, and their region of residence, whether in Western or Eastern Germany. The results suggest that Russia’s war against Ukraine is likely to create tensions not only between individuals with different ideological orientations, but can also result in conflicts between citizens with and without a Russian or Turkish migrant background or identity.