With a bag in each hand and another on his back, Denis made his way up a hill on foot after crossing the border from Russia to Georgia.
“I’m just tired. That’s all I feel,” said the 27-year-old, trying to catch his breath.
Denis had only been on the road for six days, most of them queuing to cross the border. He is one of hundreds of thousands of Russians who endure a grueling marathon journey to leave their country.
While women and children are among those who cross, most men of combative age fear the possibility of being drafted into fighting the Kremlin’s war in Ukraine. According to the Georgian Interior Ministry, at least 10,000 pass through the Lars border crossing every day.
Denis, who declined to reveal his last name, said he chose to leave because of uncertainty following Russian President Vladimir Putin’s announcement last week of a “partial mobilization” of civilians — despite his previous insistence that the military strike would only are fought by military professionals. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said the army will deploy about 300,000 men with previous military experience to fight in Ukraine.
While the current design shouldn’t apply to him, Denis fears that could change.
“How do I know what will happen in three years? How do I know how long this will take?” he said.
“It’s uncertain and nobody knows what’s coming,” he told DailyExpertNews.
His sentiment is shared by many crossing the border into Georgia. They are teachers, doctors, taxi drivers, lawyers and builders – ordinary Russians who have no appetite for war. And while they say they disagree with the government, they believe they can do nothing to force Putin to change course.
They have chosen to leave their homeland despite the perilous journey. Denis said he spent days in his car without adequate access to food and toilets.
“If you’re waiting there, there’s no toilet. You can’t eat a lot because everything sells out right away and nobody packed a lot of food because nobody expected it to take so long,” he said.
Another man DailyExpertNews spoke to walked 20 kilometers (12 miles) to get to Georgia, also fueled by concerns that the draft could expand.
“It doesn’t apply to me today, but maybe tomorrow,” the man told DailyExpertNews on the condition that he remain anonymous, fearing Moscow’s far-reaching hand.
