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‘War gave us the final push’: Why one gay couple fled Russia for Turkey

Turkey’s record on LGBTQI rights is little better than Russia’s. All the same, Putin’s invasion of Ukraine was the final straw for Dima and Mitya

‘War gave us the final push’: Why one gay couple fled Russia for Turkey
Mitya and Dima in Turkey | Tugba Baykal
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“It was [already] really hard living in Russia,” says Dima. “But now there is no life in Russia at all.”

Dima and his partner Mitya are among an estimated 200,000 Russians who have left their country since Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine at the end of February.

Many fear further crackdowns on anti-war dissent, and the possibility that forced conscription could be introduced.