Russians Have Begun Actively Looking For Ways To Leave The Country

The number of relocation requests has reached its highest level since the first mobilization.

Russians have begun actively looking for ways to leave the country. In July, the number of related searches on Yandex reached its highest level since the beginning of 2023, and interest in mobilization nearly tripled over the course of the month, according to calculations by "We Can Explain". At the same time, Russians are finding out which countries they can relocate to without a visa.

For example, the search term “moving” was searched 809,900 times in July, compared to 705,700 times in June—a record high since the first wave of mobilization in the fall of 2022. The number of searches for “leave” also rose—to approximately 1.3 million per month. In addition, Russians searched for the term “mobilization” more than 3.4 million times in July, compared to nearly 1.3 million in June (+166%). This is the highest figure since January 2023.

The number of searches for “visa-free” also increased by 27% over the month, reaching 171,600. Meanwhile, the search term “leave without a visa” set an all-time record dating back at least to January 2023: 2,253 searches compared to 1,251 in June (+80%). At the same time, interest in tickets to Georgia has grown, as tens of thousands of Russians have flocked there in recent days. In July, this search term was entered 22,000 times—more than twice as often as at the beginning of the year.

Relocation agencies are also seeing an increase in the number of inquiries. Yesterday, the “Relokats” project reported that Russians are submitting nearly twice as many emigration requests as before. People want to leave urgently, by September–October, out of fear of a new wave of mobilization, which, according to U.S. officials and sources in the Kremlin, could be announced after the State Duma elections.

European officials have also not ruled out a mobilization in Russia, citing the high casualties suffered by Putin’s army on the front lines, which, according to CSIS estimates, had reached 1.4 million by July. The Kremlin’s decision may also be influenced by the fact that the rate of recruitment of contract soldiers has ceased to compensate for the losses.

“Relokats” noted that citizens cite not only fear of a new mobilization as a key reason for emigration, but also fatigue from life in Russia, which has been at war with Ukraine for five years now. As a result, Russians want to find a country where they can live, work, study, and make plans for the future in peace. Serbia, Armenia, and Georgia remain the most popular destinations for relocation.

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