Moscow and the Ukraine War: Where Have Russia's Men Gone?
Created: 2022-10-20 13:24
By: Kira Mueller
In Russia's capital there are noticeably fewer men on the streets because of Putin's "partial mobilization".
Some fled, many were drafted into the Ukraine war.
Moscow – In Russia's capital, the streetscape has apparently changed.
Fewer men than usual are reportedly attending restaurants, shops and social gatherings in Moscow.
Many men, it seems certain, were called up to fight in Ukraine.
Others have fled Russia to avoid President Vladimir Putin's "partial mobilization".
Because of the fear of being called up, men apparently also stay away from the streets.
As the
New York Times
reports, a Russian woman quoted as "Olya" observed that the authorities at the exits of the subway stations are checking documents.
War in Ukraine: Soldiers were recruited in Volgograd © dpa/Uncredited
Conscription: Around 220,000 men affected – many fled
The newspaper writes that many men from the "intelligentsia", i.e. from well-educated sections of the population, have left the country.
They had the necessary income and a passport.
Many married women were now left alone in Moscow as their husbands fled, either after receiving a povestka - a draft notice - or before one could arrive.
An exact number of how many men left the country is not known.
However, estimates are already in the hundreds of thousands of men, because Vladimir Putin announced on Friday (October 14) that at least 220,000 men had been conscripted.
"A Country of Women": Men leave Russia because of the war
According to local authorities, at least 200,000 men have fled to neighboring Kazakhstan, which Russians are allowed to enter without a passport.
Tens of thousands others have traveled to Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Israel, Argentina and Western Europe.
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"I feel like we're a women's country now," the
New York Times
quoted a 33-year-old photographer as saying.
"I was looking for male friends who could help me move furniture and realized almost everyone had left."
Escaping Russia: Russian citizens wait at a government center to receive a personal identification number for Kazakhstan.
© Vladimir Tretyakov/dpa
News about the Ukraine war: the economy suffers, the inner city is empty
Moscow's mayor announced on Monday (October 17) that mobilization in the capital had officially ended.
However, many companies are already feeling the effects of a downturn.
In the two weeks following the call, the number of orders in Moscow restaurants with an average check of more than 1,500 rubles - about 25 euros - fell by 29 percent compared to the same period last year
, according to the
New York Times .
In addition, many downtown storefronts are empty and shop windows where mannequins have been changing all summer are taped over.
(
Kira Mueller
)
