Ukrainian Refugees Have Nowhere Else to Go

The question now is not whether Russia and its economy are able to take on the problem of Ukrainian refugees. The question is whether we should consider it from such a calculating point of view. If so, then we shouldn’t accept refugees at all, because this will cost us financially. So, should we shut the door to refugees?

The question now is not whether Russia and its economy are able to take on the problem of Ukrainian refugees. The question is whether we should consider it from such a calculating point of view. If so, then we shouldn’t accept refugees at all, because this will cost us financially. So, should we shut the door to refugees?
But there is a more humane option.


We have an obligation to help these people. First, they see Russia as their only safe harbor. Second, they are kindred people ethnically, culturally and historically. And third, we cannot overlook the fact that they are fleeing from a country where a practically neo-Nazi government has been established.


These arguments are incompatible with the calculating view, because by opening the door to refugees we are also assuming a financial responsibility. It’s no use wondering whether Russia can accept Ukrainian refugees. We either help them, or we sit on our money.


The main task is to help these people return to their homes in Ukraine, which means we must put pressure on Kiev. But as long as they have come to us for help, we should give it to them in Russia. Not in the form of Russian citizenship, for it’s unlikely that all of them want to become Russian citizens. Besides, getting citizenship will not resolve their problems overnight. They are living in refugee camps now, where they are provided with the basic necessities. But if they receive Russian passports, they will have to fend for themselves. A Russian passport will not give you an apartment or a job.


Our goal is to help refugees, not resettle everyone from southeast Ukraine to Russia, which would make Kiev happy. The Kiev government would like to get rid of the southeastern problem once and for all, so that there would be no one left there to express a dissenting opinion or vote against Kiev. This is why Kiev is trying to intimidate people, forcing them to think that fleeing to Russia is the only solution.


The Russian government is considering the issue from a technical, and hence, dispassionate point of view. This is why it has not supported the idea of the Tula deputies, who proposed simplifying the citizenship procedure for Ukrainian refugees. The authorities in the regions where the refugee camps are located see their suffering, and probably understand them better. There are a great many ethnic Russians in Ukraine, so where should they turn for help? There is no other country where they can come and say: “This is my historical homeland.” If not Russia, then where?


The number of refugees entering Russia will continue to grow, because Kiev is so far unable to cope with its anger. The Ukrainian military is launching indiscriminate reprisals in the areas they seize from anti-Maidan protesters. Kiev doesn’t need dissenters, who should be dead, imprisoned or sent out of the country. This is why Kiev is doing its best to force as many dissenters as possible to leave.

Views expressed are of individual Members and Contributors, rather than the Club's, unless explicitly stated otherwise.