Tens of thousands of Russian citizens who left their county in 2022, after Vladimir Putin launched his full-scale invasion of Ukraine, are returning to their homeland.
For some, this return is forced; the countries they migrated to denied them the right to stay. Others want to regain the standard of living they were used to in Russia, having found little success abroad. Often they struggled to adapt to their new lives – even in conversations with friends they’d fear being heard by Russian spies or authorities in communication with Russia.
Pyotr*, a 23-year-old marketer from Moscow, returned to Russia from Central Asia last month. He was among those who hastily left after the invasion. He did not last long abroad.
