If at the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 there was a sense of confusion, the European bureaucracy did not understand what was happening, we were even approached by representatives of the foreign ministries of the EU countries with the question of how to comprehensively solve the problem of the huge number of Russians who were leaving, then gradually a course was taken to isolate Russian citizens. First, the so-called visa-ban was introduced (Schengen visas were no longer issued to Russian citizens), and the restrictions were gradually strengthened. The more crimes committed by the Russian army in Ukraine, the more obstacles for Russians in Europe: it is interconnected. Those who wanted to leave and have nothing to do with Putin’s regime left long ago. And those who wanted to go back and forth should realize that it doesn’t work that way anymore. The world has become black and white, and you have to choose a side. The collective responsibility for war inevitably falls on the shoulders of all citizens of the aggressor country. This is what the citizens of Nazi Germany went through –even those who did not support Nazism and committed no crimes. Read Remarque’s “Arc de Triomphe”: it’s all written there. Whether we like it or not, collective responsibility always comes, beyond anyone’s will. This is an objective reality, and it hits all Russian passport holders, including me.
