Ark recorded a sharp rise in Russians’ interest in emigration amid rumors of a new mobilization wave

Ark recorded a sharp rise in Russians’ interest in emigration amid rumors of a new mobilization wave

The human rights organization Ark has started receiving significantly more inquiries about the possibility of emigrating from Russia. During the first 20 days of August, the support bot received 6.3 times more questions about leaving Russia than in all of May 2026. The number of emigration-related appeals to chat moderators also increased, by 5.27 times compared with May.

Judging by the inquiries, Russians are most interested in the possibility of moving to Armenia and Georgia, as well as Serbia and countries in Latin America. At Ark, they believe interest in these countries is understandable because of visa-free travel for Russians and the large amount of information available about relocating there for Russian citizens since 2022.

At Ark, the rise in interest in emigration from Russia was linked to rumors of a new wave of mobilization after the September elections and to plans to introduce exit visas from the Russian Federation.

@meduzalive

Meduza

It looks like a new wave of emigration from Russia is beginning. Which European countries are best suited for this?

.