“A life in prison is better than death in the trenches”: How Russian soldiers desert

Naturally, money is an issue for many deserters. Finding a job in a new country can be problematic, especially in the poorer post-Soviet states. Some deserters manage to put aside their military earnings, but many escape before their first payday. In addition, servicemen who spent time on the front have already often spent much of their earnings on equipment and other military needs.

In Armenia, deserters can seek assistance with integration and employment from HUME, an organization that helps Russian migrants from all walks of life. Peer support is also available in Kazakhstan, where Russian deserters have set up Farewell to Arms, a charity seeking to establish a mechanism for providing international documents to those who fled the military.

However, emigrant communities tend to be small, and news about illegal new arrivals often reaches the Russian security services with notable speed. Deserters who carelessly share the details of their escape in a public space may end up kidnapped by Russian military police, as happened in the Armenian town of Gyumri. Given the presence of the Russian military base, human rights activists advise against traveling there. Although Yerevan, the Armenian capital, also hosts a Russian military base, no abductions have occurred there so far.

For some, health issues complicate any potential move. “Some of our clients still have shrapnel in their bodies because they didn’t have the time for surgery. Some were denied surgery — they were told it was fine and that they were free to go. Some ran away before surgery, seizing the opportunity for escape. If the illegal [border] crossing is physically demanding, such deserters find it harder to get out of Russia. Finally, they have to solve their health problems in a new country,” a Get Lost activist explains.

Many Get Lost clients suffer from chronic diseases, as there is hardly any diagnosis that Russian enlistment officers view as grounds for exemption from conscription.

And of course, emigration is fraught with mental health challenges for everyone, but deserters coming from recent combat experience likely have it the hardest. Aside from post-traumatic stress disorder, they suffer from apathy, depression, and isolation. Get Lost offers one-time psychological counseling for urgent cases — for want of the resources for in-depth assistance with adaptation and treatment — and can suggest free counseling options for those who require further care.

Many deserters also fear for their family members back home. Konstantin notes that the Russian authorities always interrogate deserters’ relatives and can check their phones or search their apartments. However, Get Lost activists have not yet observed any case of relatives being prosecuted for complicity. During interrogation, it is advisable to invoke Article 51 of the Constitution, which enshrines the right not to testify against oneself and one's relatives.