Need to leave, asylum

Draft. Compiled from human rights groups' guides but not yet reviewed by a lawyer. This is not legal advice — check the linked sources and consult a lawyer.

• First check whether you can leave: a summons in the draft register, a bailiff debt over 30,000 roubles, a criminal case, or state-secret clearance. How to check — see 'Check yourself'.
• Without an international passport you can enter Armenia (by air only), Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan on an internal passport. Belarus cooperates with Russian police and Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan have handed people over; Kovcheg considers Armenia safest.
• Before the border, prepare a phone with little personal data and think through your answers: border guards ask about the purpose of the trip, your job, relatives in Ukraine and your view of the war.
• In advance: power of attorney for family, a second passport, apostilles on diplomas and civil-status documents, money not only on Russian cards. Much can't be done remotely later — see 'Register of those who left'.
• Where to turn: Kovcheg, Go by the Forest, inTransit, Reforum Help; if a case against you may already be in the works — First Department.

current as of September 25. More: Kovcheg: leaving Russia without an international passport (foreign agent); OVD-Info: questions asked at the border (extremist); First Department: how persecuted Russians can travel (foreign agent)

Draft. Compiled from human rights groups' guides but not yet reviewed by a lawyer. This is not legal advice — check the linked sources and consult a lawyer.

• How to check: a criminal record certificate via a consulate, the Interior Ministry 'wanted' database, Interpol's public Red Notices — see 'Check yourself'. CIS-channel searches bypass Interpol's filters.
• After a detention on an extradition request Russia usually has about 40 days to send papers. Apply for asylum at once and complain to the UN Human Rights Committee: its interim measures halted Movlaev's extradition from Kazakhstan.
• High risk, including in transit: Kazakhstan (Yemelyanova was detained changing planes in Almaty), Kyrgyzstan (Russian Interior Ministry office in Bishkek since 17 Aug 2026), Uzbekistan, UAE, Turkey.
• In 2026 Georgia resumed extraditions to Russia (5 people; on 18 Sep a court also cleared Timofeev, a Furgal aide) and refuses entry to some. Armenia does not extradite in political cases, but people were removed via the Gyumri base.
• Germany has effectively closed humanitarian visas for Russians and BAMF rejects deserters en masse. Rights groups advise applying for asylum with a lawyer and collecting evidence of persecution in advance.
• Where to turn: The Ark (Kovcheg), First Department, inTransit; if facing deportation — the 'Consuls' (mind the Anti-War Committee's designation). Kazakhstan Bureau — if you are already in Kazakhstan.

current as of September 25. More: First Department: extradition and deportation (foreign agent); Meduza: Kazakhstan has become dangerous for anti-war Russians (undesirable); The Moscow Times: deportation from Turkey (undesirable); The Insider: anti-war Russians denied asylum (undesirable); The Insider: Russia's Interior Ministry expands its office in Kyrgyzstan (undesirable); ISHR: the case of Mansur Movlaev; NewsGeorgia: Georgia resumes extraditions to Russia

Draft. Compiled from human rights groups' guides but not yet reviewed by a lawyer. This is not legal advice — check the linked sources and consult a lawyer.

• Before leaving, renew your passport and, if possible, get a second one; apostille diplomas and certificates; give a power of attorney to someone close.
• Visiting a consulate is risky if you are wanted, in the summons register or convicted in absentia: an invalid passport can be seized. People have been detained outside the Gyumri consulate and after contacting the consulate in Turkey.
• A power of attorney can be made with a local notary, with an apostille and translation, without the consulate. Russian notaries will not act for people on the 284-FZ register.
• If your passport has expired, ask local authorities about a travel document for foreigners — Poland, for example, issues one. Conditions depend on your status.
• Where to turn: The Ark (lawyers and knowledge base), Reforum Help.

current as of September 25. More: Meduza: Russians losing consular services (undesirable); Meduza: how 'unfit' passports are seized (undesirable); T—Zh: power of attorney abroad; The Ark: knowledge base (foreign agent)

Draft. Compiled from human rights groups' guides but not yet reviewed by a lawyer. This is not legal advice — check the linked sources and consult a lawyer.

• You apply for asylum inside the country or at its border. Before applying, gather evidence: case files, summonses, police reports, medical records of injuries, publications, witness statements.
• Since 12 June 2026 the EU migration pact applies: Russians' approval rate (18% in 2025) is below the 20% threshold, so claims go through an accelerated procedure — up to 12 weeks, often in closed centres near the border.
• After a refusal you may be sent to a 'safe third country' (such as Serbia, Armenia or Georgia), and an appeal no longer automatically stops removal. Lawyers advise explaining from the start why your country of entry is unsafe for you.
• At the interview, be consistent and detailed: contradictions with your forms are a common reason for refusal. Human rights groups advise not contacting the Russian consulate or travelling to Russia during the procedure.
• Where to turn: PRO ASYL and Connection e.V. (Germany), VluchtelingenWerk (Netherlands), inTransit, Reforum Help; country-by-country rules — AIDA.

current as of September 25. More: Meduza: the EU changed the rules for asylum seekers (undesirable); First Department: what political asylum is and how to get it (foreign agent); AIDA: Asylum Information Database