From Moscow to the Siberian oil capital of Novosibirsk, and from the intellectual hub of St. Petersburg to the nuclear submarine base of Murmansk, Russians are searching for a way out in anticipation of a grim future in a country torn apart by isolation, censorship and belligerence.
“On February 24, everything changed, our lives were divided into before and after,” said Veronica, a 26-year-old digital marketer who lives in Moscow. She gave a pseudonym to protect her identity.
She didn’t want to make a rushed decision as she watched her friends and acquaintances abruptly packing their bags and breaking rental agreements, days after they learned that Russia had attacked Ukraine.
Instead, she went to anti-war protests in the Russian capital.
New legislation was passed in Russia in early March that can send people to prison for up to 15 years for posting or sharing information about the war that the authorities deem to be false. They made it illegal even to use the word “war,” Veronica said.
The last straw for her, however, was the reaction of the wider Russian population who she thinks largely “believe TV propaganda.”
“I was screaming that it was time for us to protest, to go to rallies, to write complaints to deputies — instead, people went shopping on IKEA’s last business day,” Veronica said. “I don’t want to live with people like that, they broke my heart.”