‘The book strikes a good balance between engaging individual stories and wider thematic interpretation…Overall… the author deserves credit for a sensitive, even-handed account.’
Asian Affairs

Paradoxes of Migration in Tajikistan is relevant far beyond the field of migration studies… Not only is the book a valuable contribution to the literature on migration in the post-Soviet space, but it is a reminder of the value of ethnography… A praiseworthy aspect of the book is Borisova’s ability to engage fruitfully with her positionality as a researcher… Borisova’s ability to see and reflect upon how her interlocutors shape her research and perhaps even adjust the research agenda enriches the book.’
International Review of Social History

‘Paradoxes of Migration offers a highly nuanced analysis of the complex decisions individuals and families are engaged in against the background of ever-increasing demands on their earnings and the lack of local opportunities to stay put. The author brings migration, people’s life projects, and the good life together in an analytical focus.’
Central Asian Affairs

‘Overall, this book offers a comprehensive and insightful account of migration in Central Asia, situating everyday experiences within broader debates on mobility, gender, social norms and tradition. The book offers new perspectives on how migration continues to shape lives and identities in Tajikistan. And I recommend it to researchers, students and anyone interested in Central Asia and migration studies.’
Central Asian Survey

‘a timely contribution to anthropological and migration studies, particularly in Central Asia, where everyday perspectives on migration remain underrepresented.’
Europe-Asia Studies

‘Paradoxes of Migration in Tajikistan is a masterful account of migrants’ mobility between Tajikistan and Russia. Carefully examining how people live their lives on the move under difficult conditions, Borisova’s lucidly written book is set to become a landmark study in the anthropology of migration.’
Till Mostowlansky, Geneva Graduate Institute

‘This deeply researched account of the lived experience of migration between Tajikistan and Russia is a must read for all those interested in Central Asia and the migratory experience more generally. This remarkable book is a testament to anthropology’s relevance for understanding some of the most pressing issues and sensitive world regions of the present era.’
Magnus Marsden, University of Sussex

‘An amazing book. Borisova offers a rich fieldwork-based account of life in the North of Tajikistan, which is also a delightful read. This work requires a substantial rethinking about how we conceptualise and think of mobility and migration. Paying attention to the politics of care and ethical struggles the book helps a reader to understand what migration is and how it is weaved into everyday fabric of life in Tajikistan.’
Malika Bahovadinova, University of Amsterdam

‘In this vivid and poignant ethnography, grounded in an intimate portrait of life in northern Tajikistan, Borisova shows how migration is much more than a response to economic necessity…Taking us from homes and wedding halls to passport offices and border posts, Borisova illuminates migration as an ethical project inseparable from the search for a good life – an argument of profound relevance for scholars of migration, as well as for students of anthropology.’ Madeleine Reeves, University of Oxford