They opposed the war for months. They protested: sometimes publicly, often privately. By the thousands they were imprisoned. And now they are massively fleeing their country. Since the call for mobilization launched by President Putin on September 21, some 700,000 Russians of fighting age have left the land of the tsars. The duty spoke with some of them. Second portrait in a series of four.
It’s not just men fleeing Russia. Women are also turning their backs on their country, for a moment or for good. To follow their husbands or their ideals. And often, for both. This is particularly the case of Ekaterina who left Russia at the end of September to find refuge in Istanbul, before going to Israel where she hopes to settle with her husband, a reservist in the Russian army.
An exodus that is not without pain. “Right now, I no longer feel anything,” says the 20-year-old young woman, joined in the Airbnb apartment that the couple rents in the Turkish capital.
“What someone in my situation might feel, I’ve felt before,” she says. When the war started, I was devastated. When the mobilization was decreed, I was terribly anxious for my husband. And now I have no more emotions. Absolutely nothing. »
When they heard the call for mobilization issued on September 21, Ekaterina and her husband quickly decided to flee Russia. But above all, to immediately leave their accommodation in Moscow. “If you stay at the address where you are registered by the authorities, police or army officers can come and give you your mobilization letter [qu’ils doivent te donner en mains propres], she explains. And if you receive it, you are in trouble. »
The choice was clear and unequivocal for the couple. “There was absolutely no question of my husband going to war. It was the only reasonable decision to make, ”launches the young woman with confidence.
After taking refuge for a few days with Ekaterina’s parents, her husband took the road to reach Saint Petersburg by car. From there, he boarded a bus with a friend to cross the Finnish border and reach Helsinki. ” Everything went well. They did not have any difficulties, ”reports the young woman, married last January, when she was a history student.
The next day, Ekaterina left Russia by plane to go to Istanbul. “For women, it’s safer to buy a plane ticket,” she says, saying she is well aware of being part of a privileged class who can afford to leave the country in safety. . “For many people, it’s not that simple,” she laments. The bureaucracy is very long to issue passports and most people in Russia do not have financial resources. »
Her husband then came to join her in Istanbul. And the couple soon plans to continue, once again, on its way. “We want to stay here for a while and then go to Israel, where we want to obtain Israeli citizenship,” says Ekaterina, adding that her husband is of the Jewish faith.
exile or prison
For the young woman, and for many other Russians who these days are making the decision to leave the country, exile or prison are the only two options left for those who refuse to be silent. “The regime is not just waging a war against Ukraine at the moment, it represents a direct danger for the people who live in Russia and who do not want to lick Putin’s ass”, declares defiantly Ekaterina, who has already been volunteer for the party of political opponent Alexei Navalny.
Under the autocratic regime of Vladimir Putin, which is constantly tightening, the population no longer has any effective means to fight the power in place, believes the young woman. “Yes, you can go demonstrate, but it’s meaningless,” she says. It is to protest for the sake of protest. It’s just for your personal credibility, but politically, it’s useless. It’s aimlessly putting yourself in harm’s way. »
With the consequence that part of the Russian youth, often educated and well off, is fleeing these days towards horizons that they hope will be brighter. A departure which, for Ekaterina, in no way alters the depth of her Russian identity. “No matter what politics and crimes politicians may commit, I will always feel Russian,” she said.