News about the deportation of anti-war Russians and deserters from Germany has stirred up concern in the emigre community about their future in a country they thought offered safety.

Last week, the website Ekho published a long piece claiming that Germany has begun deporting anti-war Russians. The details of the cases vary — from a student who arrived more than 10 years ago to a recent deserter — but all received orders to leave. Some were even put on planes and removed before their voluntary departure deadlines expired.

The situation was presented in dark tones, with imagery familiar to those who remember the U.S.S.R. of Solzhenitsyn’s stories — black vans outside apartment buildings, footsteps on the stairwell.

I even found myself arguing seriously with friends who thought alarm bells should be ringing before it’s too late: soon, even the remaining avenues could be shut down, people who already received humanitarian visas might face rejection, extensions will be denied, and all of us could face deportation to Russia.

The problem exists, and people need to know about it to be prepared. But if we look at the situation calmly and focus on facts rather than emotions, the picture looks different from what Echo suggests. 

A significant portion of these deportations have no relation to anti-war persecution but standard migration procedures. People entered on tourist visas, tried to legalize their status through freelance work or employment, were refused, received orders to leave and then faced non-renewal of their grace periods. The link between deportation and anti-war views is not always clear.

Descriptions of inspections and actions by German migration authorities are presented as extraordinary when they are largely standard enforcement practices. In some cases, deportations did not even occur: some applicants were granted asylum, others stayed for family reasons and some are still appealing decisions.

Cases........

© The Moscow Times