Posted on Oct 9, 2022
Thousands of Russians continue to arrive in Turkey, fleeing conscription
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https://www.npr.org/2022/10/09/ [login to see] /thousands-of-russians-continue-to-arrive-in-turkey-fleeing-conscription
Who'd have Thunk It!
Who'd have Thunk It!
Thousands of Russians continue to arrive in Turkey, fleeing conscription
Posted from npr.org
Turkey
Russia
Ukraine
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 2
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."Russian tourists are also opting to stay indefinitely in Turkey
Russians continue to come to Antalya in large numbers. According to the provincial governor, up to 19,000 Russians are arriving every day. Some are fleeing the draft and others are tourists who decide to stay.
Turkish tourism companies that work exclusively with Russians tell NPR they have seen a significant increase in single males booking long stays. But vacationers also are not boarding their planes back to Russia, and some flights are going back half empty.
One man who opted to stay is a 34-year-old from Moscow. He is afraid to reveal his name, but tells NPR that he bought a ticket to Turkey a few days after the draft, spending several thousand dollars and leaving in a rush. He didn't even have time to notify his bosses, who have no idea he's leaving the company.
"Tomorrow when I have a Skype call, I'm going to surprise them," he says, laughing.
Like all the other men of fighting age who've tried to leave, he too faced questioning by authorities at the airport in Moscow.
"I saw some people who were diverted from the floor and taken to a separate room," he says. "I couldn't see what happened to them but I have a feeling they were not allowed to leave."
He was among the lucky ones because he hadn't been drafted by the time he left — and he'd bought his flight as a tourism package so he could claim to be a tourist when asked why he was leaving.
But unlike other men who've fled to Turkey and told NPR they would never go back to Russia, this man says he will go back if Russia loses the war — which he believes can happen, as long as Russia sticks to conventional weapons.
"I will go back then, because we have to rebuild," he says. "We have to vote for new people who will choose a different way. And one day, maybe when I am old, people will visit Russia again, because it's a beautiful place."
The only choice he could make now, he says, was to leave and not be forced to kill people in a war he doesn't believe in."
..."Russian tourists are also opting to stay indefinitely in Turkey
Russians continue to come to Antalya in large numbers. According to the provincial governor, up to 19,000 Russians are arriving every day. Some are fleeing the draft and others are tourists who decide to stay.
Turkish tourism companies that work exclusively with Russians tell NPR they have seen a significant increase in single males booking long stays. But vacationers also are not boarding their planes back to Russia, and some flights are going back half empty.
One man who opted to stay is a 34-year-old from Moscow. He is afraid to reveal his name, but tells NPR that he bought a ticket to Turkey a few days after the draft, spending several thousand dollars and leaving in a rush. He didn't even have time to notify his bosses, who have no idea he's leaving the company.
"Tomorrow when I have a Skype call, I'm going to surprise them," he says, laughing.
Like all the other men of fighting age who've tried to leave, he too faced questioning by authorities at the airport in Moscow.
"I saw some people who were diverted from the floor and taken to a separate room," he says. "I couldn't see what happened to them but I have a feeling they were not allowed to leave."
He was among the lucky ones because he hadn't been drafted by the time he left — and he'd bought his flight as a tourism package so he could claim to be a tourist when asked why he was leaving.
But unlike other men who've fled to Turkey and told NPR they would never go back to Russia, this man says he will go back if Russia loses the war — which he believes can happen, as long as Russia sticks to conventional weapons.
"I will go back then, because we have to rebuild," he says. "We have to vote for new people who will choose a different way. And one day, maybe when I am old, people will visit Russia again, because it's a beautiful place."
The only choice he could make now, he says, was to leave and not be forced to kill people in a war he doesn't believe in."
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