«How to leave Russia» Afternoon became one of the strongest searches on Google from the Urals to Siberia. Anticipation for Vladimir Putin’s address to the nation grew, and research continued even as the leader’s intervention was postponed amid the chaos of Kremlin communications. The increase in searches was particularly blocked by Telegram Mogem Obyasnit, but it can also be found in Google Trends, as the meduza.io site underlines.

In Russia, "How to leave Russia" Soared on Google this evening – "Mobilization" And "Military law."https://t.co/afBuMfjYuX pic.twitter.com/ZR2FUme4Io

— Meduza in English (@meduza_en) September 20, 2022

But what caused the desire to find out how to leave Russia? An exodus was recorded last March, mainly animated by the Russian upper bourgeoisie, in the days immediately following the invasion of Ukraine, when the borders had not yet been closed and sanctions had not crippled the economy. Now the situation has definitely worsened, and the fear of “general mobilization” is growing, which will force millions of Russians to end up in the military draft. It is no coincidence that the Duma, the lower house of the Russian parliament, unanimously approved a law increasing penalties for violators of martial law (related to general mobilization) and draft dodgers. There is the dreaded question of the “referendum” on the annexation of Donbass, the results of which cannot be predicted.