Since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, millions of Ukrainians have fled. But also in Russia, thousands have chosen to leave their homeland as a result of the war. The figures are uncertain, but some experts believe it is several hundred thousand. Russian technology companies are experiencing such a mass exodus that the authorities are putting measures in place to get people to stay. Here are the stories of four Russians who have started anew. Facts about Russian emigration after the Ukraine war There are no official figures on how many Russians have left their homeland after the invasion of Ukraine on 24 February. A Russian economist estimated in mid-March that at least 200,000 have left. 15,000 Russian millionaires are expected to leave their home country during the year, according to a report from a British consulting company. Turkey, Georgia, Armenia, Israel and the Baltic countries are among the countries most Russians have traveled to. Among those traveling are IT specialists, researchers, bank employees and doctors, according to The Wall Street Journal. And so journalists and activists have left their homeland after the war. The history teacher: I didn’t dare say I’m Russian At a reception in Norway, a Russian history teacher is sitting. The man in his 40s prefers to be alone in his room. The reception is full of Ukrainian refugees. He is ashamed to be Russian. In March, he left his home country. Now he hopes for a stay and security in Norway. He wants to remain anonymous because he is afraid of his family back home in Russia, if it becomes known that he has left. When he celebrated his birthday last year, the future looked bright. He really enjoyed his job and the family was doing well. Although he had been critical of Russia’s annexation of the Crimean peninsula in 2014 and supported opposition politician Alexei Navalny, there had been no serious consequences. The war changed everything. Alexei Navalny has been in prison since January last year. Then he returned to Russia after being treated for poisoning at a hospital in Germany. Navalny believes Russian intelligence was behind it. Photo: Alexander Zemlianichenko / AP A few days after the invasion, he was approached by the police when he came to work. His critical messages in social media from 2014 were retrieved. The police wanted to know if he was still cooperating with Navalny’s organization. Shortly after, he was told to quit his job. The encounter with the police was terrifying. He deleted the messages. The history teacher feared that he might be accused of breaking one of the new laws introduced after the war. Among other things, spreading false information about the war in Ukraine can lead to 15 years in prison. The history teacher decided to go to Norway. He had previously visited the country and made friends here. The first days at reception were difficult. The meeting with Ukrainian children was particularly strong. Just before, the images of dead people in the streets of Butsja had shocked the whole world. – I felt simply terrible. In the evening, a large group of Ukrainian refugees arrived. I am a teacher and I know how children behave. Here I saw children who were different. I understood that they were traumatized. I couldn’t talk to them. I didn’t know what to say. Volunteers load bodies into a truck in Butsja for further investigation. The brutality of the Russian forces in the suburbs of Kyiv shocked the whole world. Photo: Rodrigo Abd / AP The history teacher believes the war will be prolonged. He imagines that it will wave back and forth with more ceasefires and new battles. The war will continue as long as Putin rules. – As long as he lives, this is a slow grind, which makes our lives a farce. The computer programmer: The war is madness When the war was a fact, 32-year-old “Ivan” understood that he had to leave. The computer programmer believes that the war is madness and that Russia has become a totalitarian society that is no longer possible to live in. Since May, he has lived and worked in Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia. “Ivan” will also be anonymous. He is afraid of the consequences if the Russian authorities find out that he is critical of the war. He is determined that one day he will return to his homeland. – I hope all this will one day pass. Hopefully in my lifetime. I would like to live in Russia. I have many friends and my parents there. I don’t want to burn any bridges. Many in his professional group have left. Between 50,000-70,000 IT specialists left Russia during the first month of the war, according to a Russian trade association. The number is so high that President Putin introduced measures in March. President Vladimir Putin has taken measures to prevent more IT specialists from leaving Russia. Among other things, technology companies get lower taxes. Photo: Mikhail Klimentyev / AP Employees in the technology industry can for the next three years have deferred military service and get favorable mortgages, according to the independent Russian website, Meduza. At the end of June, the Russian authorities stated that the country lacks around 170,000 IT specialists. The industry has around 1 million employees. “Ivan” says that he has wanted to work abroad for a long time. The war accelerated the plans. When a company in Georgia offered him a job, he jumped at the chance. He likes life in Tbilisi. Much is like home in Russia, but the country also has an exciting culture. The programmer hopes Russia will change. He believes that if enough Russians change their opinion about the war, those in power will also change course. The journalists: No future in Russia – We have no future in Russia. This applies not only to us, but to the entire younger generation. Look at Putin and his circle. All are of retirement age. Putin has lost the young, says Aleksandr Peskov (26). He and partner Darja Porjadina (22) believe they had no choice. One early morning in March, the police knocked on the door of the two journalists’ home in Arkhangelsk. When Aleksandr opened it, he was presented with a search warrant. Darja Porjadina and Aleksandr Peskov have settled in Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia. Working as journalists in Russia after the war became impossible and dangerous, say the cohabiting couple. Photo: private Computers, telephones and press cards were seized. The police wanted to know if they had collaborated with the organization of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, says Peskov. They were taken in for questioning, which lasted until late in the evening. Colleagues advised the young cohabiting couple to leave. A couple of days after the search, they packed their things. In the Georgian capital, Tbilisi, they are also trying to start over. They continue as journalists and write about news from their home county. Around 35,000 Russians have traveled to Georgia since the war began, according to estimates from the Georgian authorities. One of the reasons is that Russians do not need a visa to the former Soviet republic. In Georgia, the cost of living is low and they feel welcome. They have not commented on reports that the Georgians are not only positive towards Russians. Among other things, rental prices have gone through the roof. Darja says that after the search she was not allowed to continue her journalism studies. She misses friends and loved ones in her home country. For her, Russia and the Russian Federation are two completely different things. Aleksandr says he will not return as long as Putin rules. – Everything is produced so beautifully at home in Russia. No one has more beautiful rivers or birch trees, they say, but recently I was in Finland. There the scenery was just as beautiful, but there were no dilapidated houses or broken roads. People could live off their wages and everyone felt safe.
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Thousands of Russians have turned their backs on their homeland because of the war in Ukraine – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
