PUTIN'S EXILES

A veteran reporter introduces us to anti-Putin activists who are building a resistance from abroad.

Starobin, a former Moscow bureau chief for Businessweek, cites an astonishing figure: Since Putin’s forces invaded Ukraine in 2022, more than 1 million people have fled the country. Many of these exiles have settled quietly elsewhere, but others have continued to fight against Putin however they can. As the author conducted his interviewers, he found a wide range of motivations, from liberals who want to see a democratic Russia to dissident priests who could not accept the Orthodox Church’s support for Putin and his war. Several exiles left because they believed that their outspoken views made them a target, and they still worry that the tentacles of Putin’s security services will reach out for them. Others left Russia simply to avoid conscription into a war that seemed pointless and futile. In fact, the lack of unity is a key weakness for the exiles, and the Kremlin propaganda machine has been able to depict them as a ragtag bunch of noisy troublemakers. One figure that the Putin circle seems to fear, however, is Alexi Navalny, a longtime opponent of Putin who survived a poisoning attempt. Despite being imprisoned in Russia, he has a substantial organization working on his behalf in other countries, and he continues to attract Western support. Still, Putin remains powerful despite the collapse of his plan for a quick victory in Ukraine. Starobin notes that Russia has a history of exiles returning to play a central role, writing that “the lesson of exile movements is that they must be viewed with a long timeframe. Their lifecycle is typically measured in decades.” Many readers will hope that is the case in this situation.

Starobin’s hands-on examination of Russia’s exile community is a remarkable story of brave people looking to the future.