A generationRina Yakutenko is a molecular biologist and science journalist. Her latest book “The World Destroying Virus” has made her a highly sought after Covid-19 expert in Russia. But the 37-year-old author does not live in Russia, but in Berlin-Friedrichshain. You would think of her as a typical member of Berlin’s colorful expat community, she is engaged in interesting work and cool projects. But there is one difference: she came to Germany three years ago and stayed here because she thought she or her family could not see the future in her home country. This makes them part of a different group that quickly gained attention: politically motivated immigrants from Russia.
Daria Skibo, a 31-year-old sociologist who has lived in Germany for two years, said that political immigration is usually a difficult phenomenon to grasp. There are no reliable data on how many people participated, why they came to Germany, and the channels through which they stayed in Germany. More and more Russians are entitled to asylum: they are persecuted, for example, because they participated in protests, worked for criticizing the media or NGOs, participated in civil society, or because their sexual orientation deviated from state regulations specification. Some people actually apply for asylum, but this number is relatively small compared to the approximately 10,000 people who immigrate to Germany from the Russian Federation each year. In 2019, 3145 Russian citizens applied for asylum, of which 472 were accepted, after years of waiting, rejection and modification. Skibo said that anyone who can afford it will choose a different path: “Anyone who has a good education and network, is fluent in German or English, has money, or has relatives in Germany will not apply for asylum.”
“For me, it started in 2011”
Those who feel threatened but have not yet experienced specific persecution may form a larger group. “You know,” Skibo said, “Comrade Major already sees you in his eyes”-this is a metaphor for the authoritarian state that has been used since the Soviet era. More and more people know a person who has been interrogated, arrested, convicted or declared a foreign agent, searched, or lost his job or college degree for political reasons. This affects mood and speeds up the churn plan.
FAZ Quarterly: A forward-looking magazine about our future visions and ideas
“For me, it started in 2011,” Irina Yakutenko said. “After mass protests against fake elections.” She was the scientific editor of Lenta.ru, the leading independent online media at the time. The editorial team came up with the idea of letting reporters from various departments serve as reporters, so they sat in court day after day, reporting the trials of the protesters. Therefore, the participants in such trials should not always be taken literally: her acquaintances are accused even if they are not in the presentation. He collected evidence of his innocence, but the judge did not even read the documents and imposed heavy fines. This acquaintance who now lives abroad was shocked. The emperor Yaku was not true: “Of course I knew this would happen, but seeing it with my own eyes gave a completely different impression.” In 2014, The editorial staff of Lenta.ru was disbanded due to reports of non-compliance in Ukraine. The route was the same as it is now: stirring. Some fired journalists founded a new media, Meduza, whose editorial office is located in Latvia. In May 2021, Medusa was declared a “foreign agent” in Russia, thus cutting off all advertising revenue from Russia.
