>

The bill was sponsored by everyone trying to rent an apartment in Kazakhstan since the summer.
I live in Thailand. My city is getting weekly influxes of Russian tourists. 
So so so many 18-45yr olds are just staying here and hoping to not get caught on an overstay for long enough that when they inevitable do get sent home the war will be over. 
Lots of couples and families. Very few single men. >

When I was in Phuket, it felt like the city was 1/3 Thai 1/3 Russia 1/3 Everyone else >

Half of Phuket is owned by Russians. Russia Mafia has strong investment there too. And the local hates them. >

Yea. Part of the reason I kept a very wide berth to anyone Russian... never know who they're connected to. One drunken argument and you're getting your throat cut... or defenstrated. >

There is a saying here "Russian business or Russian girl....don't go inside" >

Jeez that’s kinda scary >

The scary thing is the severe overlap between your average Russian here and a British chav.
Cut from the same cloth somehow >

Can confirm, am average russian, bloody love the British culture, movies, music and language. >

I know what chavs are, I've got raised in a very criminal low income neighborhood, projects if you will.
That was a satire. >

I am from Kazakhstan. The title of this article is wrong. The actual article is right - there was no unlimited stay. Russians are allowed to be in Kazakhstan (KZ) only for 90 days. 
But for those who fled the mobilisation, those 90 days are long over. Those who decided to stay in KZ either already did visa runs, or received the documents to stay in KZ.
But important thing is that russians who are staying in northern territories didn't do visaruns too, because Kazakhstan is huge, so visarun will take lots of time. Most of them just received documents to stay in KZ. 
To receive the document to stay in KZ for a year officially, you need to work for KZ employer, but the practice shows that it is extremely easy to get documents even if you don't work here.
I have two friends who fled Russia in September. One of them already works for KZ employer who made them documents for one year, and the other is remote worker, but he still got documents to stay in the country without any problems. >


the other is remote worker, but he still got documents to stay in the country without any problems

Did they actually bribe someone or did the officials just allow it for whatever reason?
I've heard multiple accounts on the fact that the corruption is even more wide-spread in KZ than it is in Russia, which seems wild and unbelievable to me, but then again, given the situation, it's possible that some people are either seizing the opportunity that the fleeing Russians create, or genuinely want to help people stay there "legally" (for a less-than-legal compensation). >


Did they actually bribe someone or did the officials just allow it for whatever reason?

The usual way (in many places around the world) is register as an entrepreneur (or register an enterprise) that does nothing. >

Hopefully nothing about this is a mutually agreed upon tactic for to round up & mobilize a portion of those who evaded mobilization. >

It might just be a question of getting them out, because they can just move to another country and not go back to Russia. Kazakhstan has started to give fewer and fewer fucks about Russia since the re-invasion.
The truth is that we will never know the reason. >

Funny that. >

Do you smoke crack? Just like reddit loves to say "america is sorry we arent really like that" when it comes to shitty leaders. 40-50% voted for that asshole recently in america. Putin also has a high approval and no its not for show. 
A large portion of russians are horrible. >

Only about 20% of the American population voted for trump. 72 million with a population of 332 million. >

62% of the American population lost their right to complain about the government when they didn't cast a vote. >

well, except for those who weren't allowed to vote, like children, foreigners, and felons >

Well.. yes I guess I can't expect those who can't legally vote to vote. >

Not sure how to feel about this. One would think the vast majority of these folks want nothing to do with this war and vehemently reject it. I feel bad for this cohort. 
But there’s also gotta be sizeable proportion who are pro-Putin and pro-war but are using their privilege and cash to avoid active participation. >

Yep. Especially the latter. Was recently in Georgia and the sentiment from Georgians about Russians there was exactly that -  incoming Russians don't care either way about the war. They just want to get paid since due to sanctions apparently many payments from multi-national corps are blocked, but money can still be paid / accessed in Georgia. >

Did you actually speak to the Russians though? Because every single one ive spoken to in Georgia is against the war. >

Do you live in Georgia or is this some anecdotal experience you had talking to Russians there as a tourist? Do you even speak Russian? I see you're British. Most Georgians I've heard from have the total opposite experience of the Russians living there as you. It makes a huge difference when you speak Russian and can understand what they're saying on the streets, in bars when chatting amongst each other, and all the crazy shit being posted to Georgian related Telegram. >

I do. Moved here after the war started. Lived in Russia for close to 2 decades and have many Russian friends and my wife is Russian. I do speak Russian, although with errors, never really polished it, but good enough for chatting over a beer in a pub. So yes, i can understand it when i hear Russians chatting in the streets as well.
I frequent pubs where there are Russians and randomly chat to them over some beers.
When I see Georgians complaining about the Russians I've often wondered where they are finding these Z-heads, or whether they are just grumbling without taking the time to actually speak to them and discuss their opinions. >

Fair enough. Make sure to ask their view on the land grab they did in Crimea when discussing with them in the future. Great way to weed out if a Russian might be bullshitting you or not ;) >

Actually, i wouldn't call that bullshitting. I know many Russians who truly oppose what is happening now but supported (or didn't object to) the invasion of Crimea. I think for some it has caused them some self-reflection on their support of the Crimea takeover as well, although that is somewhat speculative on my part.
The invasion of Crimea was quick, the propaganda well handled, and presented as largely a done deal before any real opposition could form.
Where Putin failed with Ukraine was he thought he could do it again, but this time with the whole of Ukraine.
I was in Russia at the time of the invasion of Crimea and i'd say then support for it was somewhere around 90%+.
There was a saying "Krim nasha" (Crimea is ours), and i heard it repeated many times from regular Russians.
Many Russians could square Russia taking Crimea, and even if they underneath it all knew that it was an invasion, the media presented it very well as grass roots support for joining Russia and many people swallowed that hook, line, and sinker, probably largely because they wanted to believe it.
This time is different, like a line has been crossed. They see that its not just arguing over a territory that for many decades was largely controlled by Russia (even if officially Ukrainian, the base at Sevastapol ensured it was ruled by Russian officials). Now some do see Russia's imperialistic aims and don't like it.
So, if i asked a Russian these days, whether they still think the taking of Crimea was the right thing, even if they say they oppose the current war, i won't disbelieve them on either matter, simply because of how they were conditioned to believe it. Propaganda is a hell of a drug, especially if you want to believe the lies. 
However, its a good point you raise, and i'll ask them next time. Be an interesting experiment and then i'll get to challenge them on that position if they say they supported the taking of Crimea. >

Appreciate your thoughts. Cheers! >

One of Russia's stupid reasons for invading was “there are a lot of Russians there.” I can see why neighboring countries don’t want Russians around. >

Having a lot of Russian speakers is literally a national security threat. >

This is why russia still have that awkward enclave kalingrad, no one wanted an influx of russians for like 80+ years. >

It was also offered to Lithuanian S.R.R innlata 50s but to power come so called National Communist and they rejected beckuse they did not want to many Russians too. National communists stayed longer in power in Lithuania in contrast to Latvia or Estonianso number of Russians now is around 7% not 22% like those two. >

One of the things that affected opinions of the Afghanistan invasion in the USSR was elite kids getting drafted and sent to their deaths. 
Russian public opinion won’t change because a bunch of unsuspecting Buryats and village kids get blown up. But a bunch of educated kids with a future finding themselves on the wrong side of an artillery shell, that changes the math. >

Why do
They always send the poor
Why do
They always send the poor >

Because in Russia, the poor are usually minorities. They send them in to decimate their population by genocide >

🎶Kazakhstan number one exporter of Russians. All other countries are inferior exporter of Russians🎶 >

Every time I see a post about IRL Kazakhstan I scroll till I see a Borat reference. There's always one! >

These days they should also mention Dimash, who is probably the most famous Kazakh for many, and by the way an insanely talented singer. >

So, Russia suggested using Kazakh citizens vs Russians and Kazakhstan rightfully said fuck that? 
Seems fine to me... >

Kazakhstan slowly pulling away from Russia has been underreported. >

This is entirely a move to force unwilling young people into the the war. 
Many young and progressive Russians fled the country to avoid prison or mandatory “cannon fodder” service. And now that Putin has drained his prisons and burned through the young people who stayed behind, he needs more bodies… >

This is something that isn't very well understood by most Western observers.  
The majority of people who fled to Kazakhstan and Georgia are middle-class Russians.  Many of these people are skilled tradesmen, knowledge workers, or remote employees for Western companies who drew (regionally-speaking) high salaries.  This has played havoc on the cost of living in places like Tbilisi, which became gentrified almost overnight.  
In addition to whatever external pressure is being placed on Khazakstan by Putin, there is also popular pressure on the government to do something about these "rich" Russians who have made it impossible to afford an apartment in the capitol. >

A well run government should be able to use rich people's money to improve quality of life for everyone.
If I was president of Kazakhstan acting independently of Russia, I would try to find a place for the Russians to live and try to get them to immigrate. >

Exactly. Having a surge of rich, well educated and skilled immigrant arriving at your country is pretty much an economic jackpot if you know how to put them to good use. China would be drooling over these immigrants if not for their alliance with Russia. >

RIP Serbian real estate prices >

They stay too long and Russia might decide it justifies an invasion. While I support the accepting of Russian exiles to leaving Russia, certain countries (such as the Baltics) have justifiable security concerns when it comes to accepting so many people from Russia. Kazakhstan wants to remove potential influence from the Kremlin, and this is the right move. But other countries should try to accept them in order to place pressure on Putin's support of the civil war.
The more Russians that leave, the less resources Putin has to draw from. History has shown that forcing people to stay in a despotic country does not lead to the toppling of said government, it just leads to more needless slaughter. In fact, many authoritarian regimes end when exiles who escape purges return to the country to enact hopefuk change, often with the ideals of the nations that hosted them. >

As a kazakh, L move. Forcing the mass of people who dont support the war in any way back into the mass mobilization. Sad thing is most of these people that fled russia are also the young people that hold most promise and the more senior intellectuals like university professors for example. Intelligent minds being forced to suffer for a ludicrous cause they don't support. Incredible. >

We do get some dumbfucks fleeing here. Absolute pieces of shit that scream pro war, are "proud of their president" but won't be caught dead at the frontline. (haha, caught dead). These kinds of people are not welcome here, and are usually also the dumbest and most useless members of society. However, most of the russians I have met that fled their country are genuinely nice people, and it is a shame to see them being treated the way they are because of this insanity. >

So force out the people that fled russia and don't want to be Putins cannon fodder in his war for more power and money(for himself)..not that Kazakhstan is any better when it comes to 'rulers'..Don't worry Russians, you now have the opportunity to have an unlimited stay in your military >

ive seen a lot of the ru immigrants are actually ambivalent to the war, they just didnt want to be mobilized. fuck them. >

Kazakhstan returns bodies because Putin needs bodies only to end up no bodies.. ¯⁠\⁠⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠⁠/⁠¯ >

People missing the larger point. (As always on Reddit) 
Putin likely pressured Kazakhstan into doing this, since Putin needs more boots on the ground. People who were otherwise against the war and fled on their own terms will now be deported to conscription. Are there pro Putin idiots who also flee for selfish reasons? Sure. However a lot (if not most) of those idiots are out there voluntarily going to war. This isn’t good for anyone. Not good for those who fled the conscription, and not for Ukraine >

Putin REALLY f'd up >

I hope alot of these people can find refuge in a different country that doesn't want to send young people to their deaths in a needless war. >

I hope this doesn't result in a lot of Russians being forced to return to Russia to be drafted.  (On some level it doesn't really matter whether they want out of Russia because they oppose the war or if they approve of the war but are scared to participate personally.  Either way, many of those Russians would otherwise be fighting in Ukraine and anything that deprives Russia of troops seems like a good thing.)
I suppose some Russians might migrate back and forth between neighboring countries if any other neighboring counties are willing to participate.
I hope in the long run the Russian system of government gets seriously reformed and they become a proper liberal democracy.  Or if not, then at least that vast swaths of the country successfully secede and become liberal democracies.  If it wasn't for the state of Russian society, it might actually be a decent place to live.  I could see it being a destination for climate refugees in coming decades if it wasn't run by Putin or some other authoritarian government.
One of the big problems I think that Russia has is they just don't have all that many people.  And that will continue to be a problem as long as they keep motivating people to leave. >

A tiny little middle finger still means "fuck you" and thats important to remember. >

Is that what it is, or are they sending people back who fled mobilization? Because that doesn't sound like a middle finger at all. >

Your right. It's not a fuck you to Russia. It's a gift to Russia. >

Kick out the pro-Putins out of there. They're sleeper agents waiting to justify another war of conquest for the ''oppressed Russian minorities''. >

It's naive to think what Putin need some justifiable reason to start war >

Great success >

Some normal ass dudes in a Shiite situation >

Some of them might be in a Sunni situation. >

Why does my brain hate this? >

this title presumes there was an "unlimited stay [for any russian]" and afaik it was not the case >

Very good call, this is just inviting a 5th column in the future. >

Most of the people who are commenting haven't actually read the article did they? These people fled Russia because they didn't support the war or the draft, not because Russia is occupying them. >

Yes and no. What the article doesn't mention or reminds readers is that Russia is justifing its war in Ukraine to protect the many Russian nationals, Russian language speakers, and Russian culture. Russian Government has said that they have to protect its people from the Ukrainian Government. It's propagandist bullshit, but it is one of their talking points, especially around the "annexed" areas like Donbas.
So yes, Russians have fled the war to protest the draft and avoid going to war. However, to a government, a sudden influx of Russian citizens seems like a liability, no? >

Very nice. >

Well at least him with the Frizzy hair in the photo will get a good short back and sides! >

Maybe it’s designed to prevent the russians from invading with the usual excuse of protecting ethnic russians residents >

"You need to go home now. Go fight your stupid war that Daddy Putin started..." >

I'd be fine accepting refugees from Russia in the US, but that's also because the US is far away enough and big enough that there's no situation where Russian enclaves represent a strategic security risk to the US and US culture is so good at integrating immigrants that all their kids just identify as Americans. 
Totally understandable why states that border Russia would be reluctant to accept Russian migration after shit that happened everywhere that Russia colonized. If Kazakhstan can find some way of integrating Russians as Kazakhs instead of just Russians living in Kazakhstan, it would be different. But Russian history has a pattern that would make any neighbor nervous. >

People are jumping on this being due to the Kremlin pressuring Kazakhstan, and it could be, but there have been numerous reports about the citizens of the bordering countries not exactly loving the sudden influx of Russians and having concerns about what that means long term. Also, Kazakhstan isn't exactly tied to the hip with Russia, Russia is the main thing preventing them from being able to sell more oil to Europe at higher prices than what they are being allowed to sell to Asia. A weaker Russia isn't exactly a bad thing for Kazakhstan.
Just because people fled due to fear of being conscripted doesn't mean they are against the ideals/morals of their country. There's a precedent of Russian's living in near-Russia countries generally preferring pro-Russian politics and voting as such. This happens with basically any group of immigrants anywhere, but it's a bit different when you're neighboring Russia. There's a legitimate reason for these countries to not want to offer indefinite stay. >

For the people in comments: there are about 140 millions russians in russia, about 300 thousands are hiding in Kazakhstan, bringing them back won't change the number of mobilised, there's more than enough meat on the streets >

Well they should go Ukraine join the fight and push back Russian invasion army and attack Russia and kick out Putin and his ppl and restore real democracy to Russia. >

This is not the war between 2 governments. This is a war where one nation despises, enslaves, rapes and murders another for centuries. And in February this war has reached its biggest scale. Simple as that.
I see that some of the russians have suffered and are now not welcomed in their own country. But I have no sympathy for any of them as my parents risk their lives to simply get to their work places. >

Do not trust the Russians. They come to other countries, and then start "special operations to protect Russians" in the same countries. These are rotten people with imperial ambitions who are ready to take the territory of any country if there is even a certain number of Russians living in it... I warn you as a Ukrainian, do not repeat our mistakes, do not let Russians into your home. And get a powerful army if you have even one mile of border with Russia >

What about Russians with Ukrainian family ties or ancestry, tho?