About 200,000 people leave Russia for Kazakhstan since mobilisation was announced

Since 21 September, when Vladimir Putin announced a “partial” mobilisation, about 200,000 Russians have entered Kazakhstan, the country’s interior minister Marat Akhmetzhanov said, quoted by Interfax news agency.

“Since 21 September, about 200,000 Russian citizens have entered Kazakhstan, 147,000 have left,” he told reporters.

According to Akhmetzhanov, there were traffic jams on the border between Russia and Kazakhstan for several days after the mobilisation was announced, however, the situation went back to normal on 3 October. The minister stated that yesterday, 7,000 Russians entered the country, while 11,000 left Kazakhstan. “The people who arrive are leaving,” the interior minister said.

He added that over the past two weeks, Kazakhstan had deported seven Russians: three of them illegally crossed the border, and four were involved in petty hooliganism in Oral.

In the first week since the mobilisation was announced, about 98,000 people entered Kazakhstan. Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev stated that the country’s government would hold talks with Russia on the mass influx of Russian citizens.

The Kazakh interior minister promised, however, that the country would not deport Russian citizens fleeing mobilisation unless there are pending criminal charges against them in Russia.