Most of the refugees from the Russian Federation are under 35 years old. About 70% are sure that they will never return, despite financial difficulties abroad.

After the outbreak of a full-scale war, about 300 thousand people left Russia. This is stated in the investigation of the non-profit organization OK Russians, which helps Russians who oppose the war in Ukraine and who have suffered from the actions of the authorities.

The most popular moving destinations are Georgia, Turkey and Armenia. A third of those who left the Russian Federation are IT specialists. Next come managers, representatives of office and creative professions (lawyers, psychologists, designers, bloggers, employees of non-profit organizations, journalists, consultants, and others).

The majority of those who left are under 35 years old (57%), another 68% say they left the Russian Federation for a long time or forever.

“For people, this is more of a forced and urgent evacuation than a thoughtful decision. for them, the “last straw”. The decision to move is an emotional one, the choice of a country to move is more like “where you can go right now.” Many visas have expired during the pandemic,” the authors say.

Investigators identified 6 main groups of reasons for the departure of Russians:

• Disagreement with the war in Ukraine. Young people do not want to live in an aggressor country and become “accomplices in crime.” Many are horrified that Russia attacked Ukraine.
• Fear of reprisals. People are afraid of layoffs, expulsions from universities and persecution for political reasons. Some respondents already have administrative and criminal cases.
• Difficulties at work. Russians are losing jobs as employers leave the Russian market. It becomes almost impossible to cooperate with foreign clients and receive money from them.
• The standard of living is rapidly falling. We have to “tighten our belts” and think about survival instead of comfort life.
• Lack of prospects and fear for the future of children. There is no hope that normal life will be restored in the next 20 years.
• Alienation. Feeling superfluous among supporters of the ruling regime.

Only 1/4 of those who left feel confident in their new place. Russians are haunted by financial problems – access to savings and salaries on accounts in the Russian Federation, the search for a new job and a high standard of living in other countries.

“Many were not ready to move either financially or morally. if the source of income suddenly disappears. One in five faces difficulties in obtaining or renewing legal status in the host country,” the organization said.

2,067 people who left Russia after the outbreak of war participated in the OK Russians survey . The link to the survey was distributed in thematic chats and groups in social networks. The survey was conducted on March 16th.

Note that the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology previously found out that due to the war, more than 57% of Ukrainian children will grow up abroad if the fighting lasts a long time. Most of those who left for their children to stay in Ukraine.

The editor-in-chief of the Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta, Dmitry Muratov, sold his Nobel Peace Prize 2021 medal for $103.5 million and sent the money to help Ukrainian refugee children.