A week after the announcement of mobilization in Russia, faced with the prospect of going to the front in Ukraine, from the country fled 194 thousand people. Most of them took refuge in Kazakhstan, where, according to the republic’s Ministry of Internal Affairs, 98,000 Russians entered.

Georgia also received 53 thousand, on the land border of which a traffic jam for 15 kilometers gathered from people fleeing from the mobilization. The Russian authorities even drove an armored personnel carrier to the Upper Lars checkpoint to prevent the Russians from breaking through the cordon, and also decided to open a recruiting station for conscription on the spot.

More than 43 thousand fled to Finland, which is going to close the border for Russians with Schengen visas and build a fence up to 260 km long. As conceived by the country’s border service, the fence should provide security at the border in the event of mass unrest in Russia due to mobilization.

Also, 3 thousand Russians, mostly residents of Buryatia, moved to Mongolia. Former President of Mongolia Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj accused Russia in that it uses the Buryats, Tuvans and Kalmyks as “cannon fodder” in Ukraine and called on Russia’s national minorities to refuse to participate in the war. In Mongolia, they “will be welcomed with open arms,” ​​Elbegdorj said.

Thus, the current outflow of people from the country broke the record of late February – early spring, when the war in Ukraine was only gaining momentum. According to the Russian Association of Electronic Commerce, immediately after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, 50-70 thousand people left the country. Another 70,000–100,000 left for the “second wave,” which took place in April. Now, in just a week, 194,000 potentially subject to mobilization fled from Russia.

Against the backdrop of a mass exodus with many kilometers of traffic jams at the borders and air tickets that have risen in price by 10-15 times, the Kremlin began to discuss the possibility of closing the border for the departure of men of military age. The decision was expected after the “referenda” in the occupied territories of Ukraine, which ended on September 27

However, as writes “Nestka”, citing sources in the presidential administration, the authorities abandoned the idea of ​​​​closing the borders so as not to further undermine the confidence of Russians in the government. Instead of the “Iron Curtain” Russians are waiting for a restriction on leaving according to the lists of military registration and enlistment offices.