Over 113,000 people crossed the border between Russia and Georgia in just one week, at a time when rumors of a new mobilization are increasing. The Kremlin denies preparing such a measure, but recruitment is becoming more aggressive, and many Russians prefer to leave the country ahead of the parliamentary elections in September.
Traffic through the Verhni Lars border crossing, the main land route between the two countries, has increased significantly in the second half of August. According to Russian authorities, over 20,000 people crossed the border on some days.
In total, over 33,000 vehicles and 113,000 people crossed the border in just one week, writes Politico.
The number is reminiscent of the chaos in the fall of 2022 when Vladimir Putin announced the „partial” mobilization of 300,000 reservists. Over 100,000 Russians entered Georgia in just a few days, and hundreds of thousands fled to Armenia, Kazakhstan, Turkey, or other destinations.
This time there is no official mobilization order yet. That is precisely the difference: people are no longer waiting for the Kremlin’s announcement but are trying to leave preve
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Rumors point to the period after the elections for the State Duma, scheduled between September 18 and 20, as the moment when the Kremlin could announce a new call to arms.
At the beginning of August, the Russian Supreme Court excluded the federal list of the Yabloko party from the elections, the only party that was trying to participate with an explicit anti-war program.
Ukraine claims that Vladimir Putin aims to bring hundreds of thousands more people into the army. President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that Russia intends to recruit 300,000 soldiers after the September elections and another 300,000 next year.
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Official denials have not dispelled fears, especially after human rights organizations reported an intensification of forced recruitment.
In several regions of Russia, police and military recruiters have reportedly started picking up men from the streets, workplaces, or even from their homes. They are taken to recruitment centers and pressured to sign contracts with the Ministry of Defense.
„It has turned into a manhunt,” described human rights lawyer Alexei Tabalov. According to him, the methods used include deception, blackmail, violence, and threats.
Recruiters target vulnerable individuals, such as men with debts, suspects in criminal cases, detainees, students with problems, or people who can be easily coerced. There are also cases where conscripts have allegedly been forced to sign contracts to be sent to Ukraine.
In the city of Omsk, a 31-year-old man was reportedly detained for drinking beer in the street and taken directly to a military selection center, where he was pressured to enlist. In the Penza region, locals reported that men are taken from the streets or searched from door to door.
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The system is starting to show signs that it can no longer cover the losses on the front. According to Western officials cited by The Guardian, Russia loses about 6,000 more troops each month than it can recruit, despite bringing in almost 1,000 people into the army daily.
A new mobilization would be risky for Putin. The one in September 2022 sparked protests in several regions, a massive exodus of the active population, and a decline in trust in authorities. The departure of a large number of specialists also affected the economy, already facing a labor shortage.
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If I were Georgia, I wouldn’t be accepting them. Firstly because protecting groups of “ethnic Russians” (Russians, people of Russian descent, Russian speakers, etc) is one of the main pretexts Russia uses in it’s war of expansion. And secondly because Russia attacked Georgia in 2008, has been occupying part of the country since then, and keeps edging the “border” further into Georgia’s territory.
Russia arguably can manufacture any pretext to invade. Like the Nazi rhetoric.
Right, it wasn’t “protecting Russians” in Africa or Syria but still killed and bombed people left and right.
The current Georgian government is pro-Russian. They will allow the fleeing Russians in and possibly use them to further divide their own country.
Any pro-Russian governments in any country don’t care what happens to their own country as long as they line their own pockets.
I was just in Georgia (tourist), and people are rejecting of Russia their, but an estimated 20% of Georgia is still under Russian control, and people are scared after the 2008 Russian Georgian war.
So Russians shouldn’t be allowed to flee, but rather stay inside Russia until the state will mobilize them? That’s a good way of prolonging the war. We should welcome everyone that does not want to fight for Putin.
Sorry I ended up writing a lot.
I looked this up the other day and from what I could find from a brief Google search experts cant seem to agree what the best solution is.
Some site exactly what the person you were replying to mentioned. That Russia uses it as a method to try and take over more countries. But other experts also agree that removal of any possible pawns from a pointless war would ensure that it could end sooner and with less bloodshed.
It said currently there are a number of organizations trying to help people sent to fight escape the war and surrender without having to lose their lives. Theres also organizations trying to help people flee the country to avoid the war entirely. It feels like they’re stuck trying to avoid their government and also stuck because most places do not want them.
I also had come across a youtube channel last year sometime where a Russian man who had left Russia explained why many of us make the wrong assumptions about Russian people and what we think they would do or how they would act.
Long story short his explanation was that Russian people are in a state of constant oppression and trauma whether they realize it or not and that their entire society is based around bribery and what you can provide for someone.
The explanations really opened my eyes to the scale of the issue. Not only do you have a massive population, but most are living under completely different rules with a very different deck of cards than the rest of the world. When you have adults who have lived under such conditions their entire lives I imagine it also makes it difficult to move and integrate into a different society. I feel badly for all of them really. Its just such a massive scale of people, inhave no idea of how to even approach the issue. I would like to assume most of the people fleeing are doing so because they do not believe in mindless bloodshed. Its just super unfortunate
Yes. I mostly agree
The western narrative mostly is that Russia is an authorization state where a few oligarchs with Putin at the top controll the main state affairs. I agree completel, but this then obviously means that a random russian is not in control of anything, they are just pawns.
However most Western countries see all Russians as one unified evil block of orcs, and therefore don’t help any Russians at all in fleeing the country.
But this is plain stupid. Any man leaving Russia is one less potential forced soldier.
Don’t forget that emigrating russians are used as a pretext for invasion. Being a country bordering russia with a significant russian population is dangerous.
right… and you tell the difference how ? when they assemble a commando force and attack whatever country from inside ?
That is their go to pre text but it means shit if you can’t mobilize an armed force to do the invasion. And well Russia is showing it can’t maintain it’s invasion of Ukraine, so imagine how much self inflicted damage would happen if now Invading Georgia would be on top of it.
If you don’t want to accept and help people running away from forced military conscription you are bad yourself.
Well I for one am glad the Finnish border is closed.
“Our foe is so vast, our land so small. Where will we find space to bury them all?”
That’s 113,000 people that could die for him. I bet he’s pissed.
It’s 113 days less worth of meat. That’s gotta sting.
Closer to 80 days at the current mince-rate of 1400 invaders per day.
Send them back. Fucks should have been making noise all this time, now its them and their kids that may die they care.
Who knows who else is coming over these borders, agents of putler.
Nah. Let them flee. Not everyone who lives in evil Russia, China, United States, is a bad person.
But 113k people could actually protest harder than ever, potentially taking over the streets of Moscow. Sadly no words from them
If nothing else, it’s that many less people for their military to throw at Ukraine, work in their factories building weapons or otherwise supporting their economy. They need to watched though for spies and saboteurs in case they want to give Russia a new pretext for invading Georgia, as unlikely as it would be for Russia to want another front to their war.
Protesting is no longer an effective means of convincing the ruling class.
Agreed but all that is needed for evil to scceed is good people to do nothing.
No, what evil needs is meat the fill out thousands of uniforms, which is harder to find when potential conscripts run away.
If 113000 people walked peacefully into Moscow then neither would be necessary
It’s really easy to say that safely behind a keyboard.
Yeah it is, I am lucky to be where I am. Do you wnt me to go and protest in Moscow? I am politically active in my locality.
Man, evil has been winning for millennia
Doubt. Thats defeatist nonsense
There’s no “doubt” involved. History is written. You can see it. You just don’t want to look.
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You could say the same for Americans, but they’re also not doing shit.
Yeah fuck them too, playing life on easy and bitching all the way to fascism
Wait until this happens in the USA over the next few years
There is enoigh dumbasses to fill out the meat grinder there.
Hoorah and all that
they should have, but they get sent to gulag for just holding a plain white paper up in a public place. the place is fubr.
Russians seeking protection from a country they invaded from invading another country. Ruski logic.
I’m afraid among these there are russian spies. A friend of mine living in Georgia is wanted by russian authorities. I hope nothing bad happens to him
Russians seeking protection from a country they invaded from invading another country. Ruski logic.
It sound to me like the russian leaving their country and seeking refuge in georgia don’t want to have anything to do with their government. I assume you are a trump supporter because you live in america.
I heard many Russians abroad support the invasion of Ukraine. But they are abroad precisely because they ran away from mobilisation. It seems like they want the benefits but none of the consequences of supporting an immoral war.
I heard many americans support trump, are you one of these?
Bold of you to assume I’m American.
Since you stayed in your country, I could ask you support the fascists in your country?
How can we be sure you’re against invasions? Condemn every invasion in history.
Ok, well, if I were a Russian fleeing Russia seeking protection in Georgia I’d be vocal about what happened to Georgia and what is happening to Ukraine because of my country. There should be countless anti-war Russian movements in Georgia by now but I see none
That’s a huge spike of immigration to Georgia. Wonder how they’ll handle that.
They should get European help. I mean every man less that is not forced to fight for Putin is good.
You should check out the increase in Russian ‘tourists’ to China in 2025 and first half of 2026.
And SE Asia
I suppose they saw this:
CIA Director John Ratcliffe said Wednesday a Russian recruit’s average life expectancy on the battlefield is twenty to thirty minutes, crediting Ukraine’s AI-powered drones.
Poor Georgia.
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Good, forced draft is a crime against humanity
I don’t blame them. I can’t imagine the meat grinder strategy inspires much moral.
I sure hope they will mobilize smurfs and cheaters. We deserve better dota2 game quality.
