Karolina Sikora
This article reflects on the ethical, and methodological complexities of conducting fieldwork in the Russian North in a period of heightened uncertainty. While the prevailing assumption in Western academia is that field collaboration in Russia has become entirely impossible, this paper complicates that narrative by drawing on the author’s field experiences between 2022 and 2024. Rather than offering a generalisable model or prescriptive guidance, the article explores how fieldwork unfolds at a level of interpersonal interaction in unpredictable circumstances. Three assumptions are critically examined: that borders are closed; that academic exchange is no longer viable; and that local interlocutors need protection from engagement. These assumptions, while rooted in legitimate concern, risk oversimplifying the situated agency, strategic discretion, and ethical deliberation exercised by both researchers and field partners. Through narrative accounts and analytic reflection, the paper shows how trust, discretion, and flexibility can – under specific circumstances – make continued fieldwork possible, though not without emotional and ethical strain. The article contributes to current debates on research ethics, risk, and presence in sensitive contexts. It argues for a more relational understanding of ethical responsibility – one that acknowledges ambiguity, respects local agency, and resists binary frameworks of engagement versus disengagement. Ultimately, it calls for sustained reflection on how knowledge is produced, withheld, or silenced in times of uncertainty.
