Almost 1 Million Have Left Russia Since Mobilization Announcement, Forbes Reports

Almost 1 million people have left Russia since the announcement of mobilization, a source familiar with Kremlin assessments has told Forbes. Another source from the presidential administration clarified that this refers to 600,000 to 700,000 Russians. At the same time, it is currently impossible to calculate how many people have left the country for tourism purposes, he emphasized.

Immediately following the announcement of partial mobilization on September 21, queues formed at the country's border crossings. The busiest was the Upper Lars checkpoint on the Russian-Georgian border, where people waited for 4-5 days, often without food and water. On October 3, blogger Nikolai Levshits reported that the congestion at the border had cleared, and cars were passing freely.

Queues were also observed at the Russian-Kazakh border crossings. Various estimates have been reported in the media regarding the number of those who have left Russia for different host countries. For instance, on October 4, Kazakhstan’s Minister of Internal Affairs Marat Akhmetzhanov stated that since September 21, 200,000 Russian citizens have entered Kazakhstan, while 147,000 Russians have left the country during this period.

Earlier, various media outlets reported that 194,000 Russians left for Georgia, Kazakhstan, and Finland within the first week following the mobilization announcement. Georgia's Ministry of Internal Affairs indicated that 53,000 Russians arrived in the country within that week, with 10,000 crossing the border every day—an increase of 40-45% compared to the numbers prior to September 21.

During the same week, 66,000 Russians entered the EU, representing a 30% increase compared to the previous week, as calculated by the EU's border agency, Frontex. The agency reported that the majority entered through Finnish and Estonian checkpoints, with a significant increase in the number of people entering Finland after the mobilization announcement.