Fears of coming economic collapse and near-totalitarian repression, both effects of the war in Ukraine, are prompting an exodus of young people.

BERLIN – “I am so ashamed. It is unbelievable.” Yekaterina, 30, from Moscow, is on the cusp of leaving Russia.

The cause, she said, is president Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, a war she does not support conducted by means which horrify her. “I am afraid of the coming international isolation,” she said.

Yekaterina is one of potentially thousands of Russian citizens who want to emigrate in the near future. The women fear a coming economic collapse brought on by Western sanctions and near-totalitarian repression, all brought on by a brutal war they did not choose. The men fear the same, with the additional worry of being conscripted to fight in what increasingly looks like a military quagmire in Ukraine.

Quite where they will go, many would-be emigrants do not know. Russian citizens require a visa to travel to most Western countries. In any case, much of the West has closed its airspace to Russian planes. Two popular options are Georgia and Armenia, relatively free former Soviet states that allow Russians visa-free entry and are already home to sizeable populations of anti-Putin Russians. Yekaterina says she may go to the Caucasus, after which she hopes to work in Israel and gain citizenship. “There are not many choices,” she said.

There also isn’t much time: rumours abound that the borders will soon close and that Putin will impose martial law. Already reports are emerging of border guards treating people they suspect of fleeing the country with suspicion, in some cases turning them back. Some flights to destinations such as Tel Aviv are being turned back, possibly because the planes are sanctioned. Still, routes out of the country are closing fast.

Alexei, 29, has already been in Yerevan, the Armenian capital, for a few days. He spent three years in military school but says he does not support the actions of the Russian army in Ukraine. Armenia was one of the few options open to him once he decided to flee. “I feel like I’ve slipped through the net,” he said.

https://www.newstatesman.com/international-content/2022/03/russians-flee-as-rumours-of-imminent-martial-law-swirl

Ethanuella:
Putin will end up turning Russia into a North Korea as against the advancement he craves for.