Emigration requests to Russian rights group Kovcheg jump 6.3 times in August amid new mobilization fears

The human rights organization Kovcheg (“The Ark”) has seen a sharp rise in inquiries about leaving Russia.

In the first 20 days of August, Kovcheg representatives told Meduza, the group’s support bot received 6.3 times as many questions about leaving Russia as it did in all of May 2026. Emigration questions sent to the group’s chat moderators also rose, to 5.27 times the May level.

Based on the inquiries, Russians are most interested in moving to Armenia and Georgia, as well as Serbia, Argentina, and Latin American countries more broadly.

Kovcheg attributes the interest to visa-free entry for Russian citizens and to the amount of information available about Russians who have moved to these countries since 2022.

Meanwhile, the group said, interest is falling in moving to Kazakhstan, which has tightened its residency and entry rules and has been detaining people facing political persecution; to Montenegro, which is introducing visa requirements for Russian citizens; and to European Union countries, where visa waits are long and financial requirements are strict.

Kovcheg linked the rising interest in emigration to rumors of a new mobilization wave after the September elections and of plans to introduce exit visas for people leaving Russia.

Sources speaking to Meduza and other outlets have been reporting on the possibility of a new mobilization wave since late June. The most widely circulated account is that mobilization could be announced after the September elections.

Russian authorities officially deny that a new wave is planned. Officials issued similar denials before mobilization was announced in September 2022. There is no official decree ending that mobilization, so the authorities can resume it whenever they choose.