Tens of thousands of refugees have fled the brutal regime of Vladimir Putin as outspoken critics and quiet Russian dissenters sneak past border guards to escape the Kremlin’s ever stricter crackdowns.

One of those emigrés, who we’ll call Anna, arrived in Brussels just a few days after the invasion of Ukraine to seek shelter with her friend Elena, a young Russian who had moved to Belgium some years earlier.

It was a WhatsApp message from Anna that told Elena their world had just been turned upside down.

Full article at The Daily Beast’s website. Date of publication: 06/04/2022.