How do Latvian emigrants’ emotional apprehensions of social and cultural change in post-Soviet Latvia, and the contrasting experience they gain abroad, affect their relationship with the Latvian state and their ongoing emigration status? By contrasting the personal narratives of 59 emigrants with the Latvian state’s public transformation discourse, we argue that the culture the sending state presents to its public—both in its official discourse and day-to-day interactions with civilians—and the emotions this triggers in people based on their everyday life experiences, deepens our understanding of the post-Soviet emigration regime. Specifically, how state discourse and interactions affect feelings of recognition and the related emotions of confidence (particularly, self-confidence), pride, and shame are important for understanding post-Soviet emigration. Exaggerated neoliberal notions of the “West” dominated both the post-Soviet civil discourse and the policies and practices implemented to guide the transition, fashioning an environment where people felt shamed, and their self-confidence was injured. However, emigration and growing confidence in receiving states helped many regain a sense of comfort, self-confidence, and empowerment.

拉脱维亚移民对后苏联拉脱维亚社会和文化变化的情感忧虑以及他们在国外获得的对比经验如何影响他们与拉脱维亚国家的关系以及他们目前的移民状况？通过将59名移民的个人叙述与拉脱维亚国家的公共转型话语进行对比，我们认为派遣国在其官方话语以及与平民的日常互动中向公众呈现的文化以及由此引发的情感人们基于他们的日常生活经验，加深了我们对后苏联移民制度的理解。具体来说，国家话语和互动如何影响认可感和相关的自信情绪（尤其是自信心），自尊心，羞耻对于理解苏联后的移民非常重要。后苏联时期的民间话语以及为指导过渡而实施的政策和做法，都在夸大了“西方”的新自由主义观念，从而形成了让人感到羞耻和自信心受到损害的环境。但是，移民和对接收国的信心不断增强，使许多人重新获得了自慰，自信和授权。