SUCHO Meme Wall Russian exodus
Memes about Russians leaving the country will often imply that those who are fleeing from Russia continue to support the policies and propaganda of the Russian Federation, while simply seeking to exclude themselves from such consequences. After Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, a wave of Russians (mainly politicians, journalists, and tech workers) left the country in protest, but the largest migration took place after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a partial mobilization of reservists in September 2022 (link to Wikipedia page below), in which 300,000 people left the country in the first week after the announcement. These memes often also imply that everyone is seeking to leave the Russian Federation; one common meme phrase tells the last person to leave the country to turn off the light in the airport. These memes will also often invoke the "Upper Lars" checkpoint on the border between Russia and Georgia, a gateway for many people fleeing Russia. During the wave of Russians leaving after the partial mobilization, there were reports that the line to exit Russia and enter Georgia stretched 30 kilometers long.