Refugees, Deserters, Asylum Seekers: The Varied Treatments for Those Fleeing Russian Aggression from the Inside and Out
Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine brought devastation, death, and chaos to Eastern Europe. While the refugees, who are 90 percent women and children, forced to flee from war in Ukraine have largely received support from countries across Europe, dangers still face them abroad and at home in the forms of sexual assault, physical abuse, and destruction of their livelihoods. Those fleeing authoritarianism in Russia have had a vastly different reception as they have arrived at borders, and in recent months, numerous European nations have modified their border policies to prevent Russian nations from entering - ranging from limitations on tourism to complete bans.
A large portion of those seeking to leave Russia are doing so after Vladimir Putin announced in late September 2022 that the state would mobilize around 300,000 members of the population to serve. While the conscription is limited to those with past military experience, serving in the military is mandatory for men aged 18 to 27. Therefore, a significant portion of the population will be called to join the invasion of Ukraine without having a choice in the matter. This has already led an estimated 600,000 to 700,000 people to flee the country.
The Foreign Minister of Latvia Edgars Rinkēvičs said allowing Russian citizens into Latvia could be a security threat, and that “Many Russians who now flee Russia because of mobilisation were fine with killing Ukrainians.” Latvia is one of four countries to completely ban Russians from entering the country even if fleeing mobilization Furthermore, Latvia is ranked second in the world for its support of Ukraine in this war, with an estimated 80.1 percent of its GDP committed to aid. Similar to its Baltic neighbor, Lithuania ranked fifth in GDP commitments to Ukraine aid. Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis wrote “Lithuania will not be granting asylum to those who are simply running from responsibility.” Landsbergis expressed that it was up to the Russian people to liberate Russia and fight against Putin at home.
Within the country, the Russian population is in a state of turbulence out of a combination of lack of desire for conscription and continuously silenced anti-war efforts. Google searches in Russia spiked for searches for methods of leaving the state and “How to break an arm at home.” Some protesters were arrested for holding up a sheet of white paper in public as a symbol of their opposition to the war. With rampant repression of anti-war ideas, the population struggles to know how many other Russians wish to end the war as well. Despite putting themselves at risk, their efforts may not grant them acceptance from border officials to cross over if they can muster the 200,000-300,000 rubles needed to buy a flight out of Russia.
In a sharp contrast to the hurdles Russians are facing to leave the country, the main victims of Russia’s violent invasion are luckily being supported by countries worldwide. Even still, while Ukrainian refugees have certainly been welcomed into various countries across the continent, this welcome may not be long-lived, or entirely gracious. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) warned that the border assistance to refugees lacks enough coordination and official checks on the people assisting refugees. With 90 percent of Ukrainian refugees being women and children, they risk abuse, trafficking, and in some cases, an attack on their rights. This news is particularly disturbing for female refugees fleeing to Poland, where abortion is banned in almost all circumstances. A woman or child who is sexually abused and then forced to carry a preganancy to term places them in a difficult position financially and sociall and only further traumautizes them as an asylym-seeker. While these risks may make fleeing appear more dangerous - in terms of life, death, and sexual abuse - staying is even less of an option. Reports of Russian soldiers using rape as a weapon and a tool for social coercion in invaded areas of Ukraine have been cropping up throughout the invasion. With the exodus of Russians now fleeing their own state, the mixture of Ukrainian refugees and Russian asylum-seekers could make states like Germany – who permit people fleeing from both countries to cross their borders – appear less accommodating for the Ukrainians seeking refuge from their Russian antagonists.
Germany is not alone in its stance: many states beyond Eastern Europe have adopted less regulated border policies for Russians running from conscription.French-German discussion paper was issued before talks between EU foreign ministers in Prague over the entrance of Russians to EU member states, arguing that flexibility in border policies could help turn Russians against their own government. This stance is controversial, and could lead to conflicts rising between Russians and Ukrainians on foreign soil.
Various European countries like the UK, France, and Italy have already received criticism throughout the years for their lack of tolerance towards refugees of other crises like those fleeing the Syrian Civil War, leading some to claim the treatment of refugees is often dependent on their ethnicity. For Ukrainians, however, this markedly better treatment compared to past conflicts may only be a matter of time. In the UK, for example, Polish, Romanian, and Bulgarian refugees faced rampant xenophobia in the 2000s and 2010s regardless of being traditionally considered “white.” Foreign Policy journalist Muhammad Idrees Ahmad writes that “if the crisis does not find a quick resolution and Ukrainians are unable to return home, one can also see how refugees may be demoted to the status of mere ‘migrants.’ And should this come to pass, their skin tone is likely to offer them only limited protection.” Therefore, while Ukrainians may at the moment find solace away from their home country currently, the treatment they could face if the war does not reach a satisfactory conclusion soon has already been displayed by other refugee groups for years.However, in places where Russian migrants are fleeing, those that can afford the flight out of the country will have more ability to support themselves than Ukrainians who fled their bombed cities and front-line towns. Russians will not face the same risk of social isolation when host countries begin to feel larger strains on their social security net.
While both Ukraine and Russia are experiencing a mass exodus of citizens leaving their countries due to the violence, Ukrainians’ responses to surveys indicate the majority wish to stay and risk their lives to win this war. A considerable portion of the Ukrainian population does not consider the Russian people to be their real enemy. Still, deserters might consider running from their government could be considered parallel to solidarity with the Ukrainian people. The Ukrainian people are being brutalized at home and abroad, and risk much worse to come for those seeking refuge and those staying in the country as the war progresses. If Russians are willing to “break an arm” to avoid killing innocents, they might divert that energy to proactively fighting from home to take down the real enemy together.
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