Who Returned During the Pandemic? Migration Strategies Among Kyrgyz Labor Migrants in Russia

ABSTRACT The Russia‐Central Asia migration system was among the most strongly affected migration systems in the COVID‐19 pandemic. To understand how migrants made decisions in this unusual situation and how their strategies were influenced by gender, marriage, employment, and other factors, we analysed interviews with 36 labor migrants in Kyrgyzstan. Women, including those who were previously interested in long‐term migration, were most interested in return and were more able to access emergency transportation, but had less access to information about the pandemic. For most respondents, continued circular migration still appeared to be the best response to the hardships created by the pandemic, highlighting the durability of migration systems. However, some respondents changed their long‐term plans. Raising children abroad was an important driver of changed plans, as migrant mothers who had previously been committed to staying abroad returned home due to lack of social support during the pandemic.