thousands of Russians refuse to fight

There was more than 20 km of queue, Sunday September 25, to pass in Georgia. In these thousands of cars, Russians, fleeing the mobilization of reservists decreed by Vladimir Putin. Here they are at last on the Georgian side, after two to three days of bottling. We find them in Tbilisi, the capital of the country. A new queue forms to get a Sim card and call locally. Suitcases on the sidewalk, these men explain that until now, the Russians let almost everyone pass, sometimes with bribes, up to 180 euros.

Often these men say that they have not yet been summoned by the military authorities, but they leave as a precaution. “It has gone too far. What the government is offering us does not suit me. (…) Of course, not everyone will be mobilized, but you don’t know if it will fall on you or on someone else”, says a man. These new Russian arrivals are not necessarily welcome in Georgia. On a recent graffiti, they are invited, with rather crude words, to return home.