This article examines the question of identity construction among migrants by looking at the case of the Russian-Germans in Germany. The article summarizes an empirical study on the German repatriation program and on the biographies of Russian-Germans who migrated to Germany from former Soviet states in the 1990s and 2000s. The author employs a critical discourse analysis of institutions, organizations and publications related to the German repatriation program, as well as a biographical analysis of narrative interviews conducted with Russian-Germans in Germany. The author has analyzed descriptions of personal biographies and family histories across generations and has sought to answer the question of how, when and where a collective identity narrative is constructed.