“Sasha, they can take you,” he told him shortly after he had arrived at his office in central Moscow. While Alexander had served in the army as a conscript almost 15 years ago, he had never seen combat. That puts him relatively low on the mobilization draft, Russia’s first since World War II. Still, like many others, he is worried that he could receive a povestka, his drafts and be sent to the front. “I’d rather leave than fight in this war,” he said in a brief interview via a messenger app. “If they call me, then I would like to go [the country].” But because of a new law criminalizing desertion, he said, he believes he could face a decade in prison or more if he runs. “It’s impossible,” he said of the choice. In the end, he said, he probably “should join” the army. But he will try to find a way to deal with it. Millions of Russians woke up Wednesday to the realization that they may have to join the country’s war and occupation of Ukraine. For nearly seven months, many Russians simply tried to ignore the invasion of Ukraine. Now, for many families, the war has come home. “That was the thing everyone was afraid of when the war started,” said one mother who believed her son could be returned. Others say they are ready to fight. A man in his 30s with prior military service said he believed it was his patriotic duty to join the military if he was drafted. “I want to be with my country,” he said. So far, Russia has not closed the border to prevent the soldiers from leaving. But many believe this could be the next step. Russians leaving the country have bought tickets to countries such as Turkey and Armenia, where they can travel without a visa. Individual tickets for those countries aren’t available until this weekend, and even then they can cost more than $3,000. Aviasales, a popular airline ticketing website, even has the option to select the ‘where I can go’ destination. Many European countries have closed their land borders to Russians, leaving even fewer escape options. And even those Russians who leave could face criminal prosecution for desertion if they are drafted and don’t return. Large state-owned companies have begun distributing drafts. “Among our colleagues, there are employees with combat experience, who have served in the armed forces,” wrote Sberbank, a state-owned banking and financial services company. “Some of them have their mobilization papers and have been given their orders.” Opponents of the war have begun demonstrating in cities across Russia. But the gatherings are small, sometimes only a handful of people. In Novosibirsk, a man arrested at a demonstration shouted: “I don’t want to die for Putin and for you!” A protest is expected on Wednesday afternoon in Moscow as well. Russian police have already cordoned off the central Pushkinskaya Square. Opposition figures broadcast a prank call in which they reached the son of Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov and told him he had been called up for war. He proposed to settle the matter “on a different level”. Some opponents of the war have called it mogilizatsia, a play on the word conscription and the word mogila, grave. “We know it’s a lot more dangerous than they say,” Alexander said. “Otherwise why would the draft be needed?”
