A Russian man leaves the country amid an exodus of people trying to avoid a military call-up.
Davit Kachkachishvili/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
Russian men are fleeing the country following the announcement of “partial mobilization.”
A 21-year-old Russian, whose parents are Ukrainian, told Insider about his escape to a neighboring nation.
He traveled for four days, bringing only a backpack, to dodge the draft.
When 21-year-old Eboshi (who asked that his real name not be used) received an electronic draft summons last week, informing him that he’d been called up to join the army, he knew it was time to leave Russia — and fast.
He squeezed his essential belongings into a backpack and began a four-day odyssey into exile.
“It was so hard to leave all my belongings and loved ones behind in my home country and go with my backpack into the unknown,” he told Insider via a messaging app.
Last Sunday, Eboshi embarked on the first part of his journey — a 1,800-mile train ride from Siberia to Moscow. He said the train was packed with passengers, many of whom appeared to be fellow draft dodgers fleeing to other countries following Russia’s “partial mobilization.”
A photo shows a train leaving Russia after passengers have boarded.
Eboshi/Insider
The options of where Russians can go are limited. Neighboring EU nations have closed their borders to Russian tourists, but Kazakhstan and Georgia, which currently allow them to enter visa-free, are still open.
Eboshi declined to disclose which country he had arrived in, citing fears that he could be identified and arrested for draft-dodging or be forced to fight in the war against Ukraine. Russians face up to 10 years in prison for refusing to go to combat.
“I’m just scared for my life,” he said.
For now, Eboshi is stuck in the undisclosed border nation indefinitely, but the goal is to try and buy a plane ticket to Vietnam or Thailand. If that doesn’t work out, he said he’s clueless as to what to do next.
“I’m worried about maybe not being able to go back to my country in the next couple of years, and if I can’t go back, things will be really bad here,” he said.
‘I cannot go to war against a country where my family lives’
Eboshi received a draft summons via Gosuslugi — Russia’s public service online portal — telling him that he would need to enlist in the mandatory one-year military service. His heart dropped, he said.
He knew that it would be unlikely that he would be sent to Ukraine immediately because the partial mobilization applies only to reservists with relevant military experience. Eboshi also knew that his chronic skin condition should, in theory, make him exempt from serving on medical grounds.
Nonetheless, he said, he still felt like he could be called up to fight in Ukraine.
“I was collecting documents hoping to prove that I have an illness that would result in me not being called up,” he said. “But in today’s reality, most likely they would not pay attention to this. The standards have been dramatically lowered.”
Insider previously reported that Russia is drafting older men, sick people, and citizens with no training.
Russian recruits take a bus near a military recruitment center in Krasnodar, Russia, Sunday, Sept. 25, 2022.
AP Photo, File
Eboshi said he left Russia because he didn’t want to risk serving an army whose actions he cannot defend and couldn’t fathom fighting a country he has a personal connection to.
Both of Eboshi’s parents were born in Ukraine. They moved to Russia before he was born, in the 1990s, meaning he only has Russian citizenship. (Insider reviewed Eboshi’s ID to confirm his citizenship.)
“But I’m ethnically Ukrainian,” he said. “I cannot go to war against a country where my family lives.”
Eboshi says he opposes conscription, partial mobilization, and the war in Ukraine. “It’s a terrible mistake,” he said. “Neighboring nations are killing each other over one old moron.”
While he remains in limbo, anxiously waiting to see if he can flee to Asia, Eboshi said he is occupying himself with art and creative work. “My emotions are extremely high, and I need a way to sublimate them,” he said.
But he said he hopes that one day he can return home. “I don’t know how long I will be away from Russia, but it will be until Russia stops this senseless and horrible war that people don’t want.”