00:00The combination of growing anxiety, fear of a new wave of mobilization,
00:05the strict restrictions on the Internet and the large-scale political purges,
00:10has triggered a new wave of emigration from Russia.
00:15The Independent has documented a notable increase in social tensions
00:19amid ongoing drone attacks and economic pressure.
00:23Although the current magnitude of the exodus of citizens does not reach the levels anticipated
00:28during the chaotic mass exodus of 2022,
00:32Sociologists and human rights activists point to worrying trends.
00:36While there are no kilometer-long lines at the border crossings
00:40And flights to visa-free countries like Georgia, Armenia, Kazakhstan, and Türkiye remain affordable.
00:48Internal tensions in society have reached their peak.
00:52Jan Slovitsky, emergency assistance coordinator for the ARC Human Rights Project,
00:57He describes what is happening as a wave of migrant panic.
01:02According to him, since mid-summer, the number of applications from citizens planning an urgent departure has increased.
01:08It has multiplied almost eightfold compared to the figures for May.
01:12The main catalysts for this process were rumors about an imminent conscription,
01:18the consequences of the summer fuel crisis caused by drone attacks on infrastructure
01:24and the transformation of RUNED into a strictly controlled digital prison.
01:30For many Russians, the decision to leave their native country is difficult.
01:35but it becomes the only way to preserve their freedom or their security.
01:40A 28-year-old Muscovite told reporters that he was forced to leave urgently
01:47towards the Georgia border, leaving behind his family and friends.
01:52He acknowledged that, were it not for the threat of internet blockages and political instability,
01:57She would not have decided to leave her home for so long.
02:01The repressive escalation has also affected civil society activists.
02:06Queer activist Danil Neonov was forced to flee to Armenia
02:10after being arrested for displaying a t-shirt with symbols considered extremist by the authorities.
02:16Other Russians admit that they waited for more than a decade for a positive change in the country,
02:23But they ended up completely disillusioned by the militaristic propaganda in schools
02:28and the total destruction of the institutions of freedom of expression.
02:32The influx of Russians leaving the country has once again drawn attention to transit countries.
02:38South Caucasus.
02:39Diplomatic agencies report a steady influx of migrants into Armenia and Georgia.
02:45The situation also generates political tensions.
02:48A recent statement by the Secretary of the Security Council of Armenia,
02:53Alan Simonian, on Yerevan's willingness to help Russians evading conscription,
02:59If necessary, it provoked harsh criticism from the Russian Foreign Ministry.
03:05At the same time, Western observers point to the specific motivations of those who are leaving.
03:12Most of those surveyed act solely out of self-preservation instinct,
03:17fear for their own future and reluctance to be caught in the crossfire of repression,
03:23while avoiding making any public pronouncements on the criminal nature of the ongoing war against Ukraine.
03:35Thanks for watching the video.
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