The new wave of Russian emigration has changed the lives not only of those who left, but also of those who stayed. The outlet Vetter, in a text republished by Novaya Gazeta Europe, spoke with people who do not support the current authorities, fear for their safety, yet still do not want to leave Russia.
Roman Melnichenko
Lawyer and former Volgograd State University lecturer Roman Melnichenko, who was born in Ukraine, began posting photos of the destruction in Ukrainian cities on social media from the first days of the full-scale war. His YouTube channel with public law lectures, which he has run since 2010, has collected nearly 10 million views over 15 years.
In late March 2022, Melnichenko was dismissed from the university over an anti-war post, which was described as an “immoral act.” On the same day, he was detained and charged under the article on discrediting the Russian army. He later continued his public lectures and created the community “Ukraintsi Dona” to preserve Ukrainian culture in the Volgograd region.
“In Russia, nobody ever knows when they will be grabbed,” Melnichenko says.
He says that at first he hoped events would end quickly, but later decided his mission was education and public enlightenment. In September 2024, the lawyer was sentenced to three days of administrative arrest on a charge of disobeying police. He says he lives in constant readiness for detention, but links any possible departure not to safety concerns, but to academic interests.
Miroslava and Lev
Miroslava, whose name has been changed, is around 30. Before the war she worked in business journalism in Novosibirsk, St. Petersburg and Moscow, then briefly left the profession before returning to a small independent outlet. Thoughts of emigration come to her after arrests and searches involving fellow journalists, but she tries to assess risks without panic.
“This is my country... my position is to stay with my country in sorrow and in joy,” the journalist explains.
Another interviewee, Lev, studied in Britain and then returned to Russia, where he teaches law and works for a human rights organization. After mobilization was announced, he left for a short time, but believes that being inside the country gives a better understanding of events and allows him to work more effectively. In his view, emigration would mean a painful psychological upheaval and separation from Russian reality.