It is not only Ukrainians who are fleeing their country: many Russians have already crossed the border into neighboring countries. Because they are horrified by the war in Ukraine, but also because they fear conscription or see no future in Russia.
Tens of thousands of Russians have now arrived in the Turkish city of Istanbul. Others sought refuge in Armenia, Georgia, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan. At the border with Latvia — where you can only pass with a European visa — queues of many hours are reported. And earlier Finland also announced that massive numbers of Russians are arriving in the country with the high-speed train from Saint Petersburg to Helsinki.
Konstantin Sonin, a Russian economist at the University of Chicago, calls the Russian migration “unseen in peacetime”. “There is no war going on on Russian soil,” he told The New York Times. “Something like this is not nothing.”
Activists
The Russian refugees include activists, journalists and bloggers who fear prosecution since a new law on fake news was passed earlier this month. Anyone who disseminates information that goes against the discourse of the Russian government now faces 15 years in prison.
In addition, there have also left artists and musicians who no longer see a future for their art in present-day Russia, as well as scientists and middle-class people. The latter saw the loss of their freedoms since the invasion of Ukraine with regret. Done with their travel options, free internet, independent media and even access to their money in the bank.
Dissidents who dare to protest openly are arrested without mercy. According to the human rights media organization OVD-Info, at least 14,000 people have already ended up in jail in Russia since the raid.
Street
The Russian refugees have to rebuild their lives from scratch, just like the Ukrainian refugees. At the same time, they fear that they will be ignored simply because they are Russians and because of what Vladimir Putin has done. While most of them are just against Putin.
This is the case, for example, in Georgia, where authorities say 20,000 Russians have already arrived since the invasion of Ukraine. Russians are called after on the street and have a hard time finding housing.
Read all about the conflict in Ukraine in our file.
Safety concerns of woman who showed message against war in Ukraine on Russian TV: ‘She has not been seen since arrest’
Free unlimited access to Showbytes? Which can!
Log in or create an account and never miss a thing from the stars.