in fact, when it’s that easy, it’s so weird that there aren’t more russians flooding into the west. huh, strange!

facepalm

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_emigration_during_the_Russo-Ukrainian_war_(2022%E2%80%93present)

During the Russo-Ukrainian war (2022–present) since February 2022, more than 300,000 Russian citizens and residents are estimated to have left Russia by mid-March 2022, at least 500,000 by the end of August 2022,[not verified in body] and an additional 400,000[1] by early October, for a total of approximately 900,000. This number includes economic migrants, conscientious objectors, and some political refugees.

https://www.politico.eu/article/russian-vladimir-putin-quietly-preparing-another-mobilization/

More than 113,000 Russians left their country last week via the so-called Upper Lars checkpoint — a spike in movement that reflects growing fears that the Kremlin is poised to announce a new mobilization effort.

In recent months, Russian authorities have adopted increasingly aggressive recruitment measures, ramped up data collection on reservists, and expanded the National Guard’s remit, all fueling talk of another call.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fifth_wave_Russian_emigration

The fifth wave of Russian emigration (also Putin's emigration, sometimes "Putin's exodus") is emigration from Russia during the rule of Vladimir Putin. Researchers count the fifth wave either from the 2000s, when the composition of emigrants changed qualitatively and educated, promising people began to leave Russia; or from the mass protests of the early 2010s, Putin's return to the presidency and the establishment of a repressive authoritarian regime. In 2022, after the invasion of Ukraine and mobilization Russia went through two peaks of emigration, which became the largest in the modern history of the country. As of 2020, according to the UN, in terms of the number of emigrants in absolute numbers, Russia ranks 3rd in the world (10.65 million people or 6.8% of the population) after India (17.79 million people or 1.3% of the population) and Mexico (11.07 million people or 7.9% of the population).[1]

https://fsi.stanford.edu/publication/russian-emigration-patterns-during-russia-ukraine-war-interviews-wartime-emigres

Since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, Russia has experienced its largest wave of emigration since 1917. While estimates on the number of Russians who have fled wartime Russia vary widely, most sources estimate the number to be anywhere between 500,000 and 1,000,000. The majority of wartime émigrés have fled to nearby destination countries including but not limited to Georgia, Kazakhstan, Turkey and Uzbekistan, while a smaller number have gone further, relocating to countries in the EU, Southeast Asia and Latin America. Broadly speaking, the émigrés are younger and more prosperous than the average Russian citizen, have higher levels of education, and are driven more so by political push factors than members of previous waves. Many of the recent émigrés were engaged in political activism against the regime before emigrating; some worked as journalists, NGO employees, academics and activists, while others were dissidents of the regime at large.

https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/event/the-putin-exodus-the-new-russian-brain-drain-2/

Human capital is fleeing Russia. Since President Vladimir Putin’s ascent to the presidency, between 1.6 and 2 million Russians – out of a total population of 145 million – have left for Western democracies. This emigration sped up with Putin’s return as president in 2012, followed by a weakening economy and growing repressions. It soon began to look like a politically driven brain drain, causing increasing concern among Russian and international observers.

In this pioneering study, the Council’s Eurasia Center offers a comprehensive analysis of the Putin Exodus and its implications for Russia and the West. The study, which is authored by Ambassador John Herbst and Dr. Sergei Erofeev, examines the patterns and drivers of Russian emigration to the West since 2000 based on the findings from focused interviews and surveys with new Russian émigrés in four key cities in the United States and Europe.