Desperate for war, fearful of sanctions and concerned about the continued attempt to stifle critical voices, Russians have fled Russia in recent days.
Many foreign media reports, among other things Al Jazeera The Guardian.
Since European airspace is almost completely closed to flights to and from Russia, people on the run have few options.
Travelers from the eastern parts of Russia cross the border into Finland or into the Baltic states of Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania.
For Russians who do not have European passports, the trip goes to Georgia, Armenia or Turkey.
Travel: Many Russians travel by this train to get from Saint Petersburg to Helsinki, Finland. Photo: Aimee Korhonen / Letikova / Agence France-Presse
SOLD OUT
According to the Danish TV 2 All tickets for the Allegro train, which runs from Saint Petersburg to Helsinki, Finland, have been completely sold out in recent days.
There are many reasons for people to flee, but many say they are afraid.
– Everything is incomprehensible – in our country everyone is afraid, says Katharina.
Danish TV 2 met her on the platform at the train station in Helsinki. She traveled from Moscow with her child to meet her husband.
Before leaving, she had already seen how her homeland began to change.
– When we were in the store, where the goods were usually located, it was empty or there was only one copy. Katrina says it’s scary Danish TV 2.
Few Russians dare to appear in the media with their full names, fearing the consequences.
Russian President Vladimir Putin does not call the invasion of Ukraine a war, but a necessary “special military operation”, and he has threatened to carry it out.
Prison, police violence and propaganda It should be among the Kremlin’s tools to intimidate the Russians from rebellion.
Tried some anyway. The total number of protesters detained in Russia since the start of the invasion It is now approaching 13,000.
TV 2 previously reported a new bill, which asIt could lead to up to 15 years in prison for opposing Putin’s regime.
Demonstration: Russian police arrest a female protester during an anti-war demonstration in Moscow on March 2. Photo: Natalia Kolesnikova/AFP
– shrugged
– It’s just horror. There are crimes from start to finish.
This is how lawyer Han Sophie Gref, a former judge of the European Court of Human Rights, reacted to Putin’s war.
It is a forbidden war of aggression. Illegal weapons are used. It’s an attacking target, which is illegal. Gref tells TV 2 that everything is reprehensible and against the law of international war.
The International Criminal Court in The Hague (ICC) has The investigation of the invasion began.
The West turned its back on Russia and imposed heavy sanctions on Putin. This also affects the civilian population of Russia severely.
Gref states that there are many in Russia who do not want this war.
– I think that the Russian people, not least the younger ones, are fully prepared to become a European and become a global citizen if only they are allowed to do so. This is Putin’s war, says Gref.
Young people: Young people in particular are taking to the streets of Russia to protest the war in Ukraine. Photo: Olga Maltseva/AFP
Afraid of being imprisoned
Russian journalist Boris Grozovsky is among the thousands of Russians who have fled.
In the case of Facebook, which was later shown on the site ribbedHe writes that many Russians have arrived in Georgia in recent days.
– Do you think we are tourists, or did we see an error in the calendar and thought that it was from July to September? Or that we suddenly had to have Sabiravi and Khachapuri? he is writing.
Saperavi is a Georgian wine, while khachapuri is a traditional Georgian dish.
– We are not tourists. We are refugees. Personally, I was wanted by the police in Russia to publish signature campaigns against the war. We do not escape from bullets, bombs and missiles, but from prison. Grozovsky wrote that if I wrote what I am writing now in Russia, I would undoubtedly have been imprisoned for 15 to 20 years.
The pressure on independent news sources in Russia, to report information only from official sources, is higher than it has been for a long time.
Some are censored, while those who show resistance are shut down, he writes Watchman.
according to Vice News Authorities in Georgia estimate that between 20,000 and 25,000 Russians have arrived in Georgia in recent days. There is no complete overview of how many have fled.
Watch the striking similarity – Russian influences say exactly the same
His life has been turned upside down
Another Russian who has traveled from Russia is film critic Anton Dolin. He is now in Latvia.
– We went. There are several reasons for this. At the same time, there is only one fact – the criminal war in Ukraine, which Russia started, as Dolin wrote on Facebook.
This post was first submitted by Al Jazeera.
It is impossible to live in a country, even in a beloved homeland, where there is censorship. Especially for someone who has words as their only tool. The whole world has collapsed. He writes that the life of every person in Russia, who speaks Russian or is engaged in Russian culture, has undergone an irreversible change.
Doolin says he saw a red “Z” sprayed on his door before he left the apartment. The letter became a pro-war symbol in Russia.
– Its purpose is quite clear. He writes, “We know where your family lives, so be careful.”
Want to read more about how the Russians were injured during the war? See related issues below.
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