Putin Regime Big Loser from Emigration, Eidman Says

Paul Goble

            Staunton, Aug. 10 – Many think that Vladimir Putin has benefited by allowing Russians to leave the country since the start of his war in Ukraine. They believe that the departure of such people has reduced the amount of support for protests against the Kremlin, but in fact, Igor Eidman says, the Putin regime has no need to do so and is losing far more in other ways.

            His regime no longer needs to allow emigration for that reason, the Russian commentator says. “Protests have been crushed and fear reigns in the country.” Moreover, “most potential emigrants aren’t ready to take part” in protests. They will either leave or live quietly (kasparov.ru/material.php?id=62F3F1C3DC22A&section_id=50A6C962A3D7C).

            Once that is recognized, Eidman says, it becomes obvious that the Kremlin is the big loser from emigration. It is losing income, it is losing a chance for the future development of the country, and perhaps most worrisome to it at the present time is losing cannon fodder for its war in Ukraine.

            If the Kremlin comes to recognize that allowing people to emigrate is not the safety valve it once assumed, then the chances will increase that the Russian government will restrict the opportunities for Russians to exercise their constitutional right to move abroad, although such actions could trigger the protests that so far the war has not.