Feature; The Impact on Russia

Feature: David Gilmartin - Troika Relocations “The War in Ukraine and Impact on the Expatriate Population in Russia ”

Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24th, days after the end of the Olympic Games in China, and one day after the Russian national holiday celebrating “Defenders of the Fatherland”. Within days of the invasion sanctions were imposed on Russia by the international community, and as of 9 April 2022, more than 600 companies had withdrawn from Russia or divested themselves from Russian ties, either as a result of sanctions or in protest at Russian actions. The initial reaction among the expat community in Moscow was shock and disbelief, followed by panic. There was an immediate understanding that Russia had crossed a red line and that life for the international expat in Moscow would never be the same. At the time of the invasion some of the international schools in Moscow were on half term, and families were holidaying outside Russia. Most of those families did not return to Russia, and probably never will. Their rented houses and apartments, household goods, pets, school places were all left behind. For those corporate assignees who were in Moscow at the time, most took swift action, and left the country before European countries introduced flight bans. They also left their lives behind them in Moscow. By February 28th flight bans had been implemented between most European countries and Russia. For those who were not on time to leave before the flight bans, other options opened up. We assisted our clients’ international families to leave by minibus and car to Helsinki, by foot across the border to Estonia, even flying to Kaliningrad and walking across the border to Poland, where they were met by a driver to take them home. After the exodus of expatriates, relocation companies in Moscow have been busy sorting out the affairs that families left behind; rent agreements to be cancelled, household goods to be packed and shipped, pets to be evacuated. The lack of international transport, and a recent round of sanctions, mean that many families’ household goods are still in storage in Moscow, and it is not clear when it will be possible to get them shipped out. It’s two month’s now since Russia launched the socalled “military operation” against Ukraine, and there is no sign of willingness from the Russian side to reach any sort of truce. The media in Russia has ramped up the anti-Ukrainian and anti-western rhetoric, following the well-worn script that is depressingly predictable. In Moscow, the initial panic in the expat community, and the local population, has eased. Most corporate expats have left the country, and our role now primarily consists of cancelling leases and packing up their apartments. Another unexpected role is assisting Russian nationals to secure the documents they require to leave and work abroad. It is estimated that 500,000 Russians have left the country since the war broke out; a brain drain of unprecedented magnitude. Many of these have simply decided they cannot live in a country that wages war on its neighbour, while others will be young men of army age fleeing the threat of conscription to a battle they do not believe in. Thankfully, we see many of our clients and partners helping their local employees leave Russia at this time. A predictable side effect of the sanctions and uncertainty in daily life is that people have start hoarding. Not toilet roll, as witnessed in the West at the start of covid, but altogether more logical items. Medicines are in short supply. In recent weeks many friends and colleagues with medical conditions have not been able to find the drugs they need – for cancer, epilepsy, thyroid, diabetes. From our conversations with many of the big foreign Pharma companies, they have rethought their approach towards the country in the aftermath of the invasion of Ukraine. A common theme seems to have emerged whereby Pharma companies will attempt continue to serve the Russian market, purely to provide life-saving medication to the people who need it. However, the initial reaction of anyone who lived through the 90’s in Russia is to stock up now on the important items, leading to shortages in the pharmacies for the time being. I myself left Russia at the end of March, by train to St Petersburg and then by minibus to Helsinki. At the Russian border, one of our party, a Canadian national, did not have all his documents in order, as he had overstayed his visa. Border guards were polite, but took him aside while they checked everything, which resulted in a two hour delay. While our fellow passenger was being processed, our bus driver was asked by border guards to take four Ukrainian passengers with us to the Finnish side. They had been travelling from Russia to Finland by bus, but had been detained for questioning and extended document checks at the border. By the time we arrived they had been there for eight hours, and their original bus had departed without them. So we took them on board with us. Three of the group were Ukraine nationals who had been living and working in Russia for some time, but felt they could no longer stay. “Russia is bombing our country. How can we stay here?”. Two, a young couple from Zaporozhiya, hoped to remain in Finland. The third, an IT freelancer, planned to apply for a Canadian visa. The fourth passenger had an altogether more harrowing story, which we only learnt after we had passed through Finnish border control. After he had been processed by border police, he came in to the waiting room, and asked nervously if any of us had Viber on our phones, so he could call his mother. About nineteen or twenty years old, he lived all his life in Kherson, in southern Ukraine. He had been forcibly evacuated a week earlier by Russian troops, first to Crimea, and then across the bridge in to Russia. He somehow made his way by train to St Petersburg, and was on his way to Helsinki for a flight on the Wednesday night to Paris. Due to the delays at the Russian border he had missed his flight. He was understandably distraught, and as he only had his Ukrainian mobile, with no roaming, he couldn’t make contact with his family. I downloaded Viber to my phone and we managed got him in touch with relatives in France so he could seek advice. After many back and forth conversations between his family, the border Police and our bus driver, it was agreed we would take him with us Helsinki airport, where he got a new ticket for the Thursday morning, and he is now hopefully safely in the arms of his relatives in France.

David R Gilmartin, GMS, Founder & CEO Troika Relocations Moscow, Russia m: +7 903 799 8592