‘I don’t want to shoot anyone’: War-shy Russians seek refuge in Georgia

• Georgia is a popular destination for Russians fleeing conscription
• Russians reaching Georgia say they don’t want to kill people
• They say the bill sweeps up people who should be exempt
• Georgians are concerned about such a large and rapid influx
• Russia fought a brief war with Georgia in 2008

TBILISI, Oct 10 (Reuters) – Igor Tikhiy, a 49-year-old marketing executive, has a simple answer as to why he fled to Georgia last week and crossed the border on his bike in the middle of the night.

“I don’t want to shoot anyone. That’s why I’m here.”

He is one of thousands of Russian men who have left their country since President Vladimir Putin announced a nationwide mobilization campaign to recruit new workers for Moscow’s war in Ukraine.

According to mobilization laws passed by the Kremlin and assurances from officials, Igor’s age should mean that he is not subject to military service.

“In Russia, what is written down is one thing, but what they actually do is another. There are 50-year-olds who are sent to the front. I don’t want to be among them,” he told Reuters in an interview with Georgian capital Tbilisi.

“I’ve seen recruiters come to my building with draft papers. I don’t want to be around to find out if they’re coming for me,” he added.

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After Putin ordered the mobilization, Igor, who lived in Moscow, packed his bags – and his bike – and flew to the southern Russian city of Vladikavkaz, about 20 miles from the border with Georgia. In the middle of the night he crossed the border to avoid queues and then took a taxi about three hours south to Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia.

It’s a journey tens of thousands of Russians made in the first few weeks of Russia’s chaotic mobilization.

Alexey, a 33-year-old who works in the media, spent six days in his car on the Russian side of the border. He didn’t sleep for the first 48 hours for fear of losing his place.

“It was a difficult decision to leave, I thought about it for a long time. But I realized that if I didn’t leave right away, I might never be able to. Russia could close the borders,” he said.

Rumors of border closures in Moscow have been circulating for weeks, denied by the Kremlin but viewed by many as credible.

Alexey said he was considering leaving his car and walking or cycling across where lines are shorter. According to local media reports, dozens of cars had to be removed by police after their owners dumped them near the border.

“I don’t want to go to war. I don’t want to fight a brotherly nation,” Alexey said of his reason for leaving.

ICY RECEPTION

On the streets of Tbilisi, the recent influx of Russians into a city of just 1 million is evident.

Large lines have formed outside banks and shops selling SIM cards, while cafes are littered with young Russian men browsing AirBnB for accommodation.

How many will stay and for how long is an open question. Those unable to work remotely will find it difficult to find local jobs and housing costs have skyrocketed, say volunteers helping Russians acclimate.

Before the mobilization, more than 45,000 Russians had already opened bank accounts in Georgia this year, central bank data show — more than doubling the number of accounts held by Russians in the country in just six months.

The arrivals have sparked a small economic boom, with an additional 1.2 billion Georgian lari ($430 million) flowing into Georgia through cross-border remittances, says the Institute for the Development of Freedom of Information, a Georgian think tank.

But some locals are concerned.

Former Soviet Georgia and Russia fought a brief war in 2008 over Abkhazia and South Ossetia – two regions internationally recognized as part of Georgia but under the control of Russian-backed separatists.

The two countries still have no formal diplomatic ties, and Georgian society was fiercely anti-Russian before Putin invaded Ukraine.

Some Georgian activists want their government to limit Russian arrivals or close the border altogether. Under Georgia’s liberal immigration regulations, Russians can stay in the country virtually indefinitely without a visa.

Around 300 people took part in an anti-Russia protest in front of the Georgian parliament last Friday.

“They can be like a mine – an explosive – that can be used by Putin at any time,” protester Tsotne Japaridze said.

Many Russians, including Igor and Alexey, say they are against the war and want to integrate into Georgian society, but locals are skeptical.

“Even though we think all Russians who come here are against Putin… it’s still a problem,” Lana Ghvinjilia said at the protest.

“This is an influx of Russian culture that we’ve been trying to free ourselves from for the last 30 years.”

($1 = 2.79 Georgian barrel)

Reporting by David Chkhikvishvili and Jake Cordell; Adaptation by Guy Faulconbridge and Gareth Jones

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