The Kremlin is ramping up its efforts to suppress Russian dissidents and prevent people from leaving the country amid growing fears of economic ruin and political persecution following the invasion of Ukraine.
Officers from the Federal Security Service (FSB) have been stationed at airports to interrogate citizens attempting to fly to Armenia, Georgia and Turkey, according to local reports, social media posts and people who have spoken with The Independent. The three countries have yet to place a flight ban on Russia.
One Russian citizen, who has left Moscow for Georgia, said the FSB have been questioning individuals, taking their phones, reading personal messages and asking “them what they think about Ukraine and Putin”.
Access to liberal radio stations, independent TV channels and social media platforms have also been restricted in recent days, while people found guilty of spreading “fake information” about the Russian army will be jailed for up to 15 years under a new law passed on Friday.
And speculation is beginning to mount that Russian authorities are planning to prevent men of fighting age from leaving the country and prepare for a mass mobilisation of forces - something the Kremlin has dismissed.
Recommended Ukraine-Russia war news: Zelensky responds to nuclear plant attack Why has Russia invaded Ukraine? The conflict explained Sign The Independent’s petition to help the people of Ukraine
Veronika Miller, another resident of Moscow, said the situation was “very terrible”, with many of her friends now leaving for Istanbul or Bali.
“People are now being fired from their jobs, men are being prepared to be drafted into the army, everyone is in a very anxious mood,” she said.
“I don’t want to make rash decisions yet - I have family, work, friends, an apartment here. I have a lot to do with Moscow and I have something to lose. I will leave only as a last resort - if they declare war on the territory of Russia. Until that happens, I'll be here.”
Many fleeing Russians have headed towards Georgia and its capital, Tbilisi. It’s understood that 100s of Russians have been crossing the border every day since the invasion of Ukraine began, with Georgian government officials said to be alarmed by the size of the influx.
A Russian citizen living in Tbilisi said they had been bumping into “random people from Moscow two days in a row, [I] didn’t even know they were here,” adding that they had “more friends coming here this weekend”.
“A few days ago one of my Russian friends here expressed concerns that there are so many Russians coming that Georgia will start discriminating and it’s happening now,” they said.
According to reports, the Bank of Georgia has asked Russian immigrants opening new accounts to sign a document condemning the invasion of Ukraine and agree not to share Kremlin propaganda.
The cost of plane tickets has leapt since Russia closed its airspace to airlines from the European Union and many other countries in a tit-for-tat response to sanctions imposed by the west, severely limiting Russians' ability to travel.
The unprecedented western sanctions on Moscow have already sent prices rising and started hitting the lives of ordinary Russians, while those who protest have been swiftly arrested.
Some 7,669 people have been detained at anti-war protests since the invasion began on 24 February, according to the OVD-Info protest-monitoring group.
Veronika said that men “who go to a rally against the war are officially taken” to Ukraine and speculated that “soon all young men will be called up”.
She added: “Nobody wants to take risks, so the guys leave [the country]. I’m scared, but I don’t give in to panic, I try to think soberly and make decisions calmly.”
Rising fears in Russia have been exacerbated by the passing of a new law that imposes lengthy prison sentences for people found to be spreading “fake” information about about Russia's armed forces. It also makes public calls for sanctions against Russia a criminal offence.
“If the fakes lead to serious consequences then imprisonment of up to 15 years threatens,” the Duma, the lower house of the Russian parliament, said on Friday.
Ukraine crisis Show all 46
1/46Ukraine crisis
Ukraine crisis 23 January 2022 An Ukrainian Military Forces serviceman, watches through spyglass in a dugout on the frontline with Russia-backed separatists near Gorlivka, Donetsk region
AFP via Getty Images
Ukraine crisis 23 January 2022 An Ukrainian Military Forces serviceman, caresses a dog in a dugout on the frontline with Russia-backed separatists near Gorlivka, Donetsk region
AFP via Getty Images
Ukraine crisis 23 January 2022 An Ukrainian Military Forces serviceman, looks on in a dugout on the frontline with Russia-backed separatists near Gorlivka, Donetsk region
AFP via Getty Images
Ukraine crisis 22 January 2022 Civilian participants in a Kyiv Territorial Defence unit train on a Saturday in a forest in Kyiv, Ukraine
Getty Images
Ukraine crisis 22 January 2022 Mariana, 52, a marketing researcher who for the past two years has been a volunteer in a Kyiv Territorial Defence unit, trains on a Saturday in a forest in Kyiv, Ukraine
Getty Images
Ukraine crisis 22 January 2022 Civilian participants in a Kyiv Territorial Defence unit train on a Saturday in a forest in Kyiv, Ukraine
Getty Images
Ukraine crisis 22 January 2022 A civilian participant in a Kyiv Territorial Defence unit waits to fend off a mock attack while training on a Saturday in a forest in Kyiv, Ukraine
Getty Images
Ukraine crisis 22 January 2022 An instructor trains members of Ukraine’s Territorial Defense Forces, volunteer military units of the Armed Forces, in a city park in Kyiv, Ukraine
AP
Ukraine crisis 22 January 2022 Civilian participants in a Kyiv Territorial Defence unit train on a Saturday in a forest in Kyiv, Ukraine
Getty Images
Ukraine crisis 22 January 2022 Mariana (C), 52, a marketing researcher who for the past two years has been a volunteer in a Kyiv Territorial Defence unit, trains on a Saturday in a forest in Kyiv, Ukraine
Getty Images
Ukraine crisis 22 January 2022 A member of Ukraine’s Territorial Defense Forces, volunteer military units of the Armed Forces, trains in a city park in Kyiv, Ukraine
AP
Ukraine crisis 22 January 2022 Civilian participants in a Kyiv Territorial Defence unit train on a Saturday in a forest in Kyiv, Ukraine
Getty Images
Ukraine crisis 22 January 2022 Members of Ukraine’s Territorial Defense Forces, volunteer military units of the Armed Forces, train in a city park in Kyiv, Ukraine
AP
Ukraine crisis 22 January 2022 Civilians, including Tatiana (L), 21, a university veterinary medicine student who is also enrolled in a military reserve program, participate in a Kyiv Territorial Defence unit training on a Saturday in a forest in Kyiv, Ukraine
Getty Images
Ukraine crisis 22 January 2022 Civilian participants in a Kyiv Territorial Defence unit train on a Saturday in a forest in Kyiv, Ukraine
Getty Images
Ukraine crisis 22 January 2022 Civilian participants in a Kyiv Territorial Defence unit train on a Saturday in a forest in Kyiv, Ukraine
Getty Images
Ukraine crisis 22 January 2022 Civilian participants in a Kyiv Territorial Defence unit train on a Saturday in a forest in Kyiv, Ukraine
Getty Images
Ukraine crisis 21 January 2022 A poster of Russian President Vladimir Putin is used as target practice along a trench on the frontline with Russia-backed separatists near Zolote village, in the Lugansk region
AFP via Getty Images
Ukraine crisis 20 January 2022 Russian servicemen standing at attention upon their arrival for the joint drills in Belarus
MINISTRY OF DEFENCE REPUBLIC OF
Ukraine crisis 20 January 2022 Russian infantry fighting vehicles upon their arrival for the joint drills in Belarus
MINISTRY OF DEFENCE REPUBLIC OF
Ukraine crisis 19 January 2022 A Russian armored vehicle drives off a railway platform after arrival in Belarus
AP
Ukraine crisis 19 January 2022 A service member of the Ukrainian Armed Forces stands next to a BM-21 “Grad” multiple rocket launcher during tactical military exercises at a shooting range in the Kherson region, Ukraine
via REUTERS
Ukraine crisis 19 January 2022 A Russian armored vehicle drives off a railway platform after arrival in Belarus
AP
Ukraine crisis 19 January 2022 A satellite image shows equipment deployed at Klimovo Railyard in Klimovo, Russia
via REUTERS
Ukraine crisis 19 January 2022 A satellite image shows an closer view of tank artillery and support equipment from the deployed units in Yelnya (130km/80miles east of Russia/Belarus border)
Satellite image ？？2022 Maxar Tech
Ukraine crisis 19 January 2022 A satellite image shows a close view of tanks artillery and tents in the Pogonov training area of Voronez, Russia
Satellite image ？？2022 Maxar Tech
Ukraine crisis 18 January 2022 A convoy of Russian armored vehicles moves along a highway in Crimea
AP
Ukraine crisis 18 January 2022 Yura and Viktor, Ukrainian soldiers with the 56th Brigade in a trench on the front line in Pisky, Ukraine
Getty
Ukraine crisis 18 January 2022 Anatoliy, a Ukrainian soldier with the 56th Brigade, in a trench on the front line in Pisky, Ukraine
Getty Images
Ukraine crisis 18 January 2022 Anatoliy and other Ukrainian soldiers with the 56th Brigade in a trench on the front line in Pisky, Ukraine
Getty Images
Ukraine crisis 18 January 2022 Ukrainian soldiers with the 56th Brigade walk past a destroyed building on the front line in Pisky, Ukraine
Getty Images
Ukraine crisis 18 January 2022 Ukrainian Military Forces servicemen stand in a trench on the frontline with Russia-backed separatists near Verkhnetoretske village, in the Donetsk region
AFP via Getty Images
Ukraine crisis 18 January 2022 Mykola, a Ukrainian soldier with the 56th Brigade, near the front line in Pisky, Ukraine
Getty Images
Ukraine crisis 18 January 2022 Mykola and Viktor, Ukrainian soldiers with the 56th Brigade, in a trench on the front line in Pisky, Ukraine
Getty Images
Ukraine crisis 18 January 2022 Ira and Katya, Ukrainian soldiers with the 56th Brigade, on the front line in Pisky, Ukraine
Getty Images
Ukraine crisis 18 January 2022 Ira, Katya and Alyona, Ukrainian soldiers with the 56th Brigade, on the front line in Pisky, Ukraine
Getty Images
Ukraine crisis 18 January 2022 A convoy of Russian armored vehicles moves along a highway in Crimea
AP
Ukraine crisis 18 January 2022 Russian troop train transporting military vehicles arriving for drills in Belarus
MINISTRY OF DEFENCE REPUBLIC OF
Ukraine crisis 18 January 2022 Russian servicemen preparing military vehicles to unload from a troop train for the joint drills in Belarus
MINISTRY OF DEFENCE REPUBLIC OF
Ukraine crisis 18 January 2022 Russian troop train transporting military vehicles arriving for drills in Belarus
MINISTRY OF DEFENCE REPUBLIC OF
Ukraine crisis 18 January 2022 Russian servicemen holding a traditional Belarus’ bread and salt upon their arrival for the joint drills in Belarus
MINISTRY OF DEFENCE REPUBLIC OF
Ukraine crisis 18 January 2022 Mykola, a Ukrainian soldier with the 56th Brigade, poses for a portrait in a trench on the front line in Pisky, Ukraine
Getty Images
Ukraine crisis 18 January 2022 Mykola, a Ukrainian soldier with the 56th Brigade, in a trench on the front line in Pisky, Ukraine
Getty Images
Ukraine crisis 17 January 2022 Ukrainian soldiers walk in a trench near the front line in the village of New York, formerly known as Novhorodske, Ukraine
Getty Images
Ukraine crisis 17 January 2022 An Ukrainian soldier walks in a trench near the front line in the village of New York, formerly known as Novhorodske, Ukraine
Getty Images
Ukraine crisis 17 January 2022 An Ukrainian soldier uses a hand-held periscope to view the positions of Russian-backed troops in a trench near the front line in the village of New York, formerly known as Novhorodske, Ukraine
Getty Images
Schools and media organisations in Russia have meanwhile been ordered not to describe the invasion as a “war” while several outlets have been shut down following negative coverage of the fighting.
Kremlin chiefs have repeatedly claimed that “false” information is being spread by Russia's enemies in an attempt to sow discord and divide its people.
Earlier this week, Vladimir Putin ordered the shut down of Russia’s only independent TV channel and a liberal radio station as the president ramped up efforts to censor coverage of the war, leaving citizens with propaganda from state-run outlets as their only source of information.
Recommended Ukraine cyber official: We only attack military targets Ukraine power plant attack unlikely to cause nuclear disaster – experts NATO rules out policing no-fly zone over war-hit Ukraine
On Tuesday, the country's media watchdog was ordered to “restrict access” to TV channel Dozhd TV and radio station Ekho Moskvy, after they were accused of spreading “deliberately false information” about Russia’s assault on Ukraine.
The prosecutor general’s office said that the two outlets were spreading “false information regarding the actions of Russian military personnel as part of a special operation” in Ukraine and were sharing “information calling for extremist activity, violence”.