Well, that did not go well, eh. As some of the subscribers probably know, I’m from Russia. This platform is small enough to speak more or less openly, so here is a quick recap of what the last week looked like from the inside.

Putin declared mobilization: men with previous military experience must go to war, anywhere between 300k and 1 mil of them all over the country (the precise number is kept secret). On the first day, no clarification about categories was given, and hell broke loose. Amputees, elderly, people who never served in the army, parents of infants were drafted. Police would break into houses and catch people in subway.

The mobilization was not evenly distributed. In small towns and villages more people were drafted, to the point where protest started, especially in southern regions. In big cities it is less noticeable and smaller percentage of men are drafted, while more have the resources to flee.

The chaos subsided over the next few days. Some people are now excluded from mobilization, like students and workers of “crucial infrastructure”, including financial sector. Most employers fight for their workers and try to keep them safe. Universities and scientific institutions do the same, draw all the resources they can.

From the first day, people started running. There is a humanitarian catastrophe on the border with Georgia, people have to pay to locals even to get in lines. Airplane tickets are sold out, ones that left are priced 10k$+. Estimates say that at least 200k left for Georgia and Kazakhstan that have land border with Russia. Better estimates do not exist at the moment, but it is compared to the Exodus by some.

Many people agree to fight and even buy ammunition for their own money to have better chances of surviving. Some of them are patriots, most of them seem to be obedient to whatever ones in power say.