He was also worried about the possible reinstatement of the “exit visas” for which the Soviet Union was once notorious. Since the invasion and occupation of Crimea, several million Russians have been forbidden to leave the country. These include employees of the Interior Ministry, Defense Ministry, Federal Prison Service, Prosecutor General’s Office, and Federal Migration Service, among others. In total, about 4 million government employees are now unable to travel abroad. Few if any of them—secretaries, clerks, drivers, lawyers—possess anything resembling a state secret. The purpose of the ban is rather to prevent Russians from seeing that the outside world is attractive in any way, and to keep them loyal to the regime at home. Many who fear these travel bans—as well as capital controls, a new ban on swear words, and restrictions on blogging—have already left. According to the U.N., about 40,000 Russians asked for political asylum in 2013, the largest number of any country except for Syria. Some go to Europe, or even India or Thailand. Russian is now a common language on the streets of Dubai.
Posted on: Sun, 13 Jul 2014 13:35:27 +0000
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