Alexander, 33, found out about Vladimir Putins decision to order a partial mobilisation during an emotional call from his wife.
Sasha, they can take you, she told him shortly after hed arrived at his office in downtown Moscow.
While Alexander had served in the army as a conscript nearly 15 years ago, he never saw combat. That puts him comparatively low in the mobilisation draft, Russias first since the second world war.
Still, like many others, he is worried that he could receive a povestka, his draft papers, and be sent to the front.
Id rather leave than fight in this war, he said in a short interview over a messenger app. If they call me up, then I would want to leave [the country].
But because of a new law criminalising desertion, he said, he thinks that he could face a decade in prison or more if he runs. Its impossible, he said of the choice. In the end, he said, he would probably have to go into the army. But hell try to find a way around that.
Millions of Russians woke up on Wednesday to the realisation that they may actually have to participate in the countrys war and occupation of Ukraine. For nearly seven months, many Russians have tried to simply ignore the invasion of Ukraine. Now, for many families, the war has come home.
This is the thing everyone was afraid of when the war started, said one mother who believed her son could be drafted.
Others say theyre ready to fight. One man in his 30s with past military service said he believed that it was his patriotic duty to go into the army if he was drafted. I want to be with my country, he said.
So far, Russia has not closed the borders to prevent draft dodgers from leaving. But many think that could be the next step.
Russians fleeing the country have bought out tickets to countries like Turkey and Armenia, where they can travel without a visa. Individual tickets to those countries are not available until this weekend, and even then can cost more than $3,000. Aviasales, a popular air ticket site, even has an option to choose the destination wherever I can go.
Many European countries have closed their land borders to Russians, leaving still fewer options to escape. And even those Russians who leave could still face a criminal charge for desertion if they are drafted and dont return.
Large state companies have begun handing out draft papers. Among our colleagues, there are employees with combat experience, who have served in the armed forces, wrote Sberbank, a state-owned banking and financial services company. Some of them have their mobilisation papers and have been given their orders.
Opponents of the war have begun to protest in cities across Russia. But the rallies are small, sometimes just a handful of people. In Novosibirsk, one man who was arrested at a protest yelled: I dont want to die for Putin and for you! A protest is expected on Wednesday evening in Moscow as well. Russian police have already blocked off the central Pushkinskaya Square.
Opposition figures broadcast a prank call during which they reached the son of the Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov and told him hed been drafted for the war. He suggested that he would settle the matter on a different level.
Some opponents of the war have called it a mogilizatsia, a play on the word mobilisation and the word mogila, a grave.
We know its a lot more dangerous than they say, said Alexander. Otherwise why would they need the draft?
More:
Id rather leave than fight: Russians react to Putins draft - The Guardian
- Putins Character Was Clear Long Before He Retreated to the Far End of the Table - Vanity Fair [Last Updated On: March 6th, 2022] [Originally Added On: March 6th, 2022]
- More than 4,300 people arrested at anti-war protests across Russia - The Guardian [Last Updated On: March 6th, 2022] [Originally Added On: March 6th, 2022]
- Putin miscalculated if he thinks West will move on after Ukraine invasion: ambassador - Global News [Last Updated On: March 6th, 2022] [Originally Added On: March 6th, 2022]
- Poutine not Putin: classic Quebec dish off the menu in France and Canada - The Guardian [Last Updated On: March 6th, 2022] [Originally Added On: March 6th, 2022]
- TikTok suspends new content and livestreaming in Russia after Putin signs 'fake news' law - Fox Business [Last Updated On: March 6th, 2022] [Originally Added On: March 6th, 2022]
- Putins Other Nuclear Threat - The Wall Street Journal [Last Updated On: March 6th, 2022] [Originally Added On: March 6th, 2022]
- Sen. Lindsey Graham's apparent call for Putin to be assassinated draws backlash - NPR [Last Updated On: March 6th, 2022] [Originally Added On: March 6th, 2022]
- Washingtons Newest Worry: The Dangers of Cornering Putin - The New York Times [Last Updated On: March 6th, 2022] [Originally Added On: March 6th, 2022]
- Ukrainians Are Heroic Wartime Fighters but Vladimir Putin's Ready to Unleash Hell - The Daily Beast [Last Updated On: March 6th, 2022] [Originally Added On: March 6th, 2022]
- Putin's Henchmen Rage About Getting Trolled With 'Endless Photos' of Dead Russian Troops - The Daily Beast [Last Updated On: March 6th, 2022] [Originally Added On: March 6th, 2022]
- Letters: the roots of Vladimir Putins invasion ambitions - The Guardian [Last Updated On: March 6th, 2022] [Originally Added On: March 6th, 2022]
- Putin Proves There Are Worse Things Than American Power - The Atlantic [Last Updated On: March 6th, 2022] [Originally Added On: March 6th, 2022]
- Here's how Putin protects himself from assassins and coup plots - New York Post [Last Updated On: March 6th, 2022] [Originally Added On: March 6th, 2022]
- Social media turn on Putin, the past master - The Guardian [Last Updated On: March 6th, 2022] [Originally Added On: March 6th, 2022]
- Putin slithered into Ukraine as Biden dithered - New York Post [Last Updated On: March 6th, 2022] [Originally Added On: March 6th, 2022]
- Ukraine crisis: Russian President Vladimir Putin cornered over invasion 'miscalculation' - how will he react? - Sky News [Last Updated On: March 6th, 2022] [Originally Added On: March 6th, 2022]
- Fighting traps residents in Mariupol; Putin calls on Ukraine to surrender - Reuters [Last Updated On: March 6th, 2022] [Originally Added On: March 6th, 2022]
- Why Vladimir Putin is losing the information war to Ukraine - Atlantic Council [Last Updated On: March 6th, 2022] [Originally Added On: March 6th, 2022]
- How far will Putin go and how far will America go to stop him? - CBS News [Last Updated On: March 6th, 2022] [Originally Added On: March 6th, 2022]
- Wading in blood won't stop Putin's doom from growing ever closer - New York Post [Last Updated On: March 6th, 2022] [Originally Added On: March 6th, 2022]
- Vladimir Putin - Ex-Wife, Age & Facts - Biography [Last Updated On: March 6th, 2022] [Originally Added On: March 6th, 2022]
- After Putin-Macron Call, France Sees Russia Wanting 'All Ukraine' - The New York Times [Last Updated On: March 6th, 2022] [Originally Added On: March 6th, 2022]
- Letter: Party of Putin? - Post Bulletin | Rochester ... [Last Updated On: March 6th, 2022] [Originally Added On: March 6th, 2022]
- Putin is afraid Russians will see freedom on their own ... [Last Updated On: March 6th, 2022] [Originally Added On: March 6th, 2022]
- Are there off ramps for Putin? [Last Updated On: March 6th, 2022] [Originally Added On: March 6th, 2022]
- Israeli prime minister meets with Putin to discuss Ukraine ... [Last Updated On: March 6th, 2022] [Originally Added On: March 6th, 2022]
- John Bolton: Putin was 'waiting' for possible US ... [Last Updated On: March 6th, 2022] [Originally Added On: March 6th, 2022]
- 'Putin is Hitler': why we use analogies to talk about the Ukraine war, and how they can lead to peace - The Conversation Indonesia [Last Updated On: March 29th, 2022] [Originally Added On: March 29th, 2022]
- Mysterious: the $700m superyacht in Italy some say belongs to Putin - The Guardian [Last Updated On: March 29th, 2022] [Originally Added On: March 29th, 2022]
- UK's Johnson: Putin has 'crossed the red line into barbarism' | TheHill - The Hill [Last Updated On: March 29th, 2022] [Originally Added On: March 29th, 2022]
- Putin ally warns of nuclear dystopia due to United States - Reuters [Last Updated On: March 29th, 2022] [Originally Added On: March 29th, 2022]
- Putin will have 'no choice' but to stop Ukraine invasion: former US general - Business Insider [Last Updated On: March 29th, 2022] [Originally Added On: March 29th, 2022]
- Cold war echoes as African leaders resist criticising Putins war - The Guardian [Last Updated On: March 29th, 2022] [Originally Added On: March 29th, 2022]
- Putin's invasion of Ukraine is seen as his biggest ever mistake and it will harm Russia for years to come - CNBC [Last Updated On: March 29th, 2022] [Originally Added On: March 29th, 2022]
- Putin's army is dwindling and other commentary - New York Post [Last Updated On: March 29th, 2022] [Originally Added On: March 29th, 2022]
- Why do Putin, Trump, Tucker Carlson and the Republican party sound so alike? - The Guardian [Last Updated On: March 29th, 2022] [Originally Added On: March 29th, 2022]
- We were leaked the Panama Papers. Heres how to bring down Putins cronies - The Guardian [Last Updated On: March 29th, 2022] [Originally Added On: March 29th, 2022]
- Biden: butcher Putin cannot be allowed to stay in power - The Guardian [Last Updated On: March 29th, 2022] [Originally Added On: March 29th, 2022]
- Joe Scarborough: It's time for Putin to start worrying what the United States thinks - MSNBC [Last Updated On: March 29th, 2022] [Originally Added On: March 29th, 2022]
- Putin should think about the consequences of asking for energy payments in rubles, Germany says - CNBC [Last Updated On: March 29th, 2022] [Originally Added On: March 29th, 2022]
- Opinion | Putin and the Myths of Western Decadence - The New York Times [Last Updated On: March 29th, 2022] [Originally Added On: March 29th, 2022]
- Books About Russian President Putin and the Forces that Shaped Him - The New York Times [Last Updated On: March 29th, 2022] [Originally Added On: March 29th, 2022]
- What Is Putin Thinking? - The New Yorker [Last Updated On: March 29th, 2022] [Originally Added On: March 29th, 2022]
- Biden Says of Condemning Putin: I Make No Apologies - The New York Times [Last Updated On: March 29th, 2022] [Originally Added On: March 29th, 2022]
- How Putin Conquered Russia's Oligarchy : Planet Money - NPR [Last Updated On: March 29th, 2022] [Originally Added On: March 29th, 2022]
- Ukraine fatigue is setting in, just as Putin hoped it would - iNews [Last Updated On: March 31st, 2022] [Originally Added On: March 31st, 2022]
- The roots of Putin's ultranationalism and war on Ukraine - Los Angeles Times [Last Updated On: March 31st, 2022] [Originally Added On: March 31st, 2022]
- The US anticipated almost every move Vladimir Putin made in Ukraine. This is how they probably did it - ABC News [Last Updated On: March 31st, 2022] [Originally Added On: March 31st, 2022]
- Opinion | Rebuilding Ukraine Will Be Costly. Here's How to Make Putin Pay. - POLITICO [Last Updated On: March 31st, 2022] [Originally Added On: March 31st, 2022]
- Opinion | How to Defeat Putin and Save the Planet - The New York Times [Last Updated On: March 31st, 2022] [Originally Added On: March 31st, 2022]
- Putin promotes Chechen leader with ties to murder of Kremlin critic - The Guardian [Last Updated On: March 31st, 2022] [Originally Added On: March 31st, 2022]
- Putin on the fritz? U.S. not buying Russia's deescalation talk. - POLITICO [Last Updated On: March 31st, 2022] [Originally Added On: March 31st, 2022]
- Opinion | I Didnt Think My Mother Would Escape Putin Twice - The New York Times [Last Updated On: April 17th, 2022] [Originally Added On: April 17th, 2022]
- Some U.F.C. Fighters Have Ties to a Chechen Leader Loyal to Putin - The New York Times [Last Updated On: April 17th, 2022] [Originally Added On: April 17th, 2022]
- Former Russian lawmaker fighting for Ukraine says he thinks Putin's days are numbered because 'no dictator can survive after losing the war' - Yahoo... [Last Updated On: April 17th, 2022] [Originally Added On: April 17th, 2022]
- Is Putin Destined to Win the Battle for Mariupol? - 19FortyFive [Last Updated On: April 17th, 2022] [Originally Added On: April 17th, 2022]
- For Putin, It's All About the Money - TIME [Last Updated On: April 17th, 2022] [Originally Added On: April 17th, 2022]
- US hedge funders new book reveals terrifying life on the run from Putin - New York Post [Last Updated On: April 17th, 2022] [Originally Added On: April 17th, 2022]
- Lonely Putin Is Losing Control of His Own Spiraling Minions - The Daily Beast [Last Updated On: April 17th, 2022] [Originally Added On: April 17th, 2022]
- Putin can't take much more of this: What lies ahead, defeat or apocalypse? - Salon [Last Updated On: April 17th, 2022] [Originally Added On: April 17th, 2022]
- Putin says peace talks with Ukraine are at dead end, goads the West - Reuters.com [Last Updated On: April 17th, 2022] [Originally Added On: April 17th, 2022]
- Coons Says 'Putin Will Only Stop When We Stop Him' When Pressed on US Troops - Newsweek [Last Updated On: April 17th, 2022] [Originally Added On: April 17th, 2022]
- Zelensky warns the world to 'prepare' for Putin to unleash a nuclear attack - New York Post [Last Updated On: April 17th, 2022] [Originally Added On: April 17th, 2022]
- Austrian chancellor: Putin 'in his own war logic' - POLITICO [Last Updated On: April 17th, 2022] [Originally Added On: April 17th, 2022]
- Vladimir Putin's next move revealed as Russian President ... [Last Updated On: April 17th, 2022] [Originally Added On: April 17th, 2022]
- Austrian chancellor: Putin believes he is winning [Last Updated On: April 17th, 2022] [Originally Added On: April 17th, 2022]
- Putin Says American Reporter Is Too Beautiful to ... [Last Updated On: April 17th, 2022] [Originally Added On: April 17th, 2022]
- Vladimir Putin is 'not as much in control as people think he is' - Sky News Australia [Last Updated On: April 20th, 2022] [Originally Added On: April 20th, 2022]
- Ukraine war: Wimbledon 'will ban Russian and Belarusian tennis players' over Putin's invasion - Sky News [Last Updated On: April 20th, 2022] [Originally Added On: April 20th, 2022]
- Putin plans to force mobilized Ukrainians to storm positions of Ukraines Armed Forces intel report - Ukrinform [Last Updated On: April 20th, 2022] [Originally Added On: April 20th, 2022]
- Putin's Unholy War - The Atlantic [Last Updated On: April 20th, 2022] [Originally Added On: April 20th, 2022]
- Putin Hunted Me Down All Over the World - The Daily Beast [Last Updated On: April 20th, 2022] [Originally Added On: April 20th, 2022]
- Despite Putin's claims that the West's 'economic blitzkrieg strategy didn't work,' Moscow's mayor says the city is about to lose 200,000 jobs - Yahoo... [Last Updated On: April 20th, 2022] [Originally Added On: April 20th, 2022]
- Putin's War Threatens Neon, Palladium, and Aluminum Supplies - Foreign Policy [Last Updated On: April 20th, 2022] [Originally Added On: April 20th, 2022]
- For the Putin-admiring Trump cult, Ronald Reagan would be just another RINO - Haaretz [Last Updated On: April 20th, 2022] [Originally Added On: April 20th, 2022]
- Hundreds of thousands flee Russia and Putins two wars - Al Jazeera English [Last Updated On: April 20th, 2022] [Originally Added On: April 20th, 2022]
- Putin on the brink of major 1905 humiliation after disastrous naval defeat - Express [Last Updated On: April 20th, 2022] [Originally Added On: April 20th, 2022]
- Biden blames Putin for inflation, warns war in Ukraine will 'continue to take its toll' on economy - Fox News [Last Updated On: April 20th, 2022] [Originally Added On: April 20th, 2022]
- Sanctioned Russian bank founder Oleg Tinkov condemns 'insane' Ukraine war, calls on West to give Putin face-saving exit - CNBC [Last Updated On: April 20th, 2022] [Originally Added On: April 20th, 2022]
- Ukraine Latest: Putin Popularity Still High as Russian Elite Question War's Toll - Bloomberg [Last Updated On: April 20th, 2022] [Originally Added On: April 20th, 2022]