At least 200,000 Russians have left Russia since Putin’s draft began
At least 200,000 Russians have left the country in the week since President Vladimir Putin announced a partial military mobilization after a series of setbacks in the country’s war with Ukraine, according to figures provided by Russia’s neighbors.
The mobilization could pull as many as 300,000 civilians into military service, from what Russian officials have said is a pool of some 25 million draft-eligible adults on their rolls, suggesting that the departures, though unusual, may not prevent the Kremlin from achieving its conscription goals.
Video posted on social media platforms showed long lines of cars approaching border checkpoints in countries, including Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Georgia and Finland.
The rapid outflow, as well as a series of protests in different parts of the country, are a stark display of discontent with Putin’s policy.
“I left because of my disagreement with the current government in Russia,” said Alexander Oleinikov, 29, a bus driver from Moscow who crossed overland into northeastern Georgia.
He said many people he knew were against the war, which he called a “tragedy” caused by “one crazy dictator”.
The size of the exodus is difficult to determine, however, given that Russia has borders with 14 countries, stretching from China and North Korea to the Baltic States, and not all governments release regular data about migration.
The government of Kazakhstan said Tuesday that 98,000 Russians entered the country in the last week, and Georgia’s interior minister said more than 53,000 people crossed into the country from Russia since Sept 21, when the mobilization was announced.
The daily number climbed over those days to about 10,000 from a normal level of about 5,000 to 6,000.
The European Union’s border agency, Frontex, said in a statement that nearly 66,000 Russian citizens entered the bloc in the week to Sunday, up 30 percent from the previous week.
There is also evidence that Russia may be moving to stem the flow of departures.
On Wednesday, Russia’s North Ossetia republic imposed restrictions on cars arriving from other parts of the country. The republic’s governor, Sergei Menyaylo, said the ban was being introduced after 20,000 people crossed the border in two days.
Some European countries have already imposed border restrictions with Russia, including Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland, which have closed their doors to most Russian citizens.
Some analysts cautioned that the practical impact of the departures was likely to be limited.
“Many young Russian men are departing in a mass exodus from Russia,” said Mick Ryan, an Australian military expert who has commented extensively on the war in Ukraine. “But millions of others will not have the means to leave Russia to escape their draft notices.”