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Russians are leaving their country over the Ukraine invasion, fearing detention and economic hardship, among others.Three Russians told Insider they were facing hostilities in the countries they’d fled to.But they said this hostility was understandable, with one saying: “Don’t think I can blame them.” Sign up for our weekday newsletter, packed with original analysis, news, and trends — delivered right to your inbox.Russians who fled the country over the Ukraine invasion told Insider they were getting heckled and charged more rent in their new countries.
A growing number of Russians are choosing to leave Russia after their president, Vladimir Putin, decided to invade Ukraine last month.Many of them fled to neighboring countries, fearing the imposition of martial law, border closures, detention, and economic hardship.
‘Don’t think I can blame them’ Anna*, who worked for a consulting firm in Moscow, left for Macon, Georgia, earlier this month to stay with extended family.
Georgia borders both Ukraine and Russia.
She told Insider she was shouted at by a restaurant owner who recognized her accent when she tried to buy lunch.
“At the start, I was embarrassed but also wanted to share that I was against the war.
But I understand he had anger,” she told Insider.”I would be angry too.”
Russian and Belarus people as they wait a taxi at the airport upon their arrival in Yerevan, Armenia, on March 10, 2022.
Karen Minasyan/AFP via Getty Images Last week, Valeriya*, a professor at Saint Petersburg State University, fled to Istanbul, Turkey, with her husband, who has family there.She told Insider a group of men heckled and shouted at her family on the street after hearing them speak Russian to each other.
“I have never had anything like this happen to me,” she told Insider.”But don’t think I can blame them.”
More rent for Russians, less for Ukrainians Boris Grozovski, a financial journalist and professor at Moscow State University who has been critical of Russia’s invasion, told Insider he was currently staying with friends in Tbilisi, Georgia.
He said he left Russia over fears he might be detained over his political views; Russian authorities have been cracking down on anti-war protests, media coverage of the conflict , and anyone openly critical of the government.
As of Wednesday, more than 14,900 people protesting the conflict have been detained across Russia, the independent monitoring group OVD-Info said .
A protester at the former Russian embassy in Tbilisi, Georgia, on March 12, 2022.Vano Shlamov/AFP via Getty Images Grozovski said he had been treated well in Georgia but had witnessed some tensions.
“Georgian people received me very warmly,” he said.
“The people from streets, cafés, and so on are very kind too.”
“But there are many Georgians who increase the [apartment] rent price for Russians and Belarusians,” he said.
Belarus, which borders Russia and Ukraine, is a strong ally of Russia.
“The same owners have let Ukrainians in for free,” he said, adding that he believed this was “understandable and good behavior.”
Insider was not able to independently verify Grozovski’s anecdote that some Russians were being charged higher rent and that Ukrainians were getting theirs wavered.
“In their place, I would conduct myself in the same way,” Grozovski said.
“When Georgians see you as a person who is against the war and Putin’s dictatorship, and when they see you take responsibility for what Russia does, then they see you like a person who is worthy of trust.”
But Grozovski said he believes he’s not safe in Georgia in the long term, saying that though “all the hearts of Georgian people are with Ukrainians right now, their government is different.”
The Georgian government, he said, “is afraid of Russian troops’ invasion and wants to make friendship and business with [Russia].”
“This makes Georgia not safe for me to stay too long,” he said.
The invasion of Ukraine has drawn some parallels with Russia’s five-day war on Georgia in 2008, which EU estimates say left nearly 850 people dead.The conflict was over two disputed territories — South Ossetia and Abkhazia — which Russia recognized as independent states but which Georgia, the US, UK, and most other UN states considers Georgian territory.
But the Georgian government has not imposed any sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, a move that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described as ” immoral .” Georgia also barred its citizens from going to Ukraine to fight as volunteers.
*Some names have been changed to protect the sources’ identities.
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