Those Old Enough to Remember Soviet Times Now Leaving Russia Because They Don’t Want to Go Back to the Past

Paul Goble

            Staunton, Aug. 18 – Most who emigrate are middle-aged or younger. Only they have the energy and ability to move and start over from scratch with some hope that they will have time to be able to make a new life. But at present, many Russians old enough to remember Soviet times are leaving as well because they don’t what to go back to what they remember.

            That is the conclusion that the Holod news agency draws on the basis of interviews with four older immigrants, a businessman who has moved to France, a teacher who has gone to Israel, a museum worker and translator who has moved to Israel, and a pensioner who has moved to Austria (holod.media/2022/08/18/older-leaving-russia/).

            It is significant as an indicator not only of how appalled many Russians are by the war in Ukraine but also by the ways in which Putin’s efforts to turn the clock back are backfiring. Those who can remember the past very much do not want to relive it, and those who have the opportunity to avoid doing so in this way are taking it.