This class introduces students to a broad history of 19th and 20th century Russia and the Soviet Union alongside problems of migration. In this class, students will be introduced to the historical, social, and political dimensions of migration within, to, and from the Russian Empire, the Soviet Union, and its successor states. We will look at the intersection of the movement of people with long-term economic, social and political transformations, but also pay attention to crucial events and phenomena of Soviet history that set large-scale migrations in motion. Course materials will, for instance, address mass movements related to modernization and internal colonization, analyze the role of revolutionary change and warfare for forced displacement, and study the implications of geopolitical changes in the aftermath of the breakdown of the USSR for human rights discourses. Alongside the historically grounded overview, the class explores concepts of citizenship, diaspora, nationality policy, gender specific experiences of migration, and the ethics and political economy of migration politics, thereby highlighting how current trends in Russian society are indicative of broader discourses on difference and social transformation.