“In Moscow I live like a king”: why Russian exiles return

Two friends fled Putin’s mobilisation. What made one go back?

By Camilla Bell-Davies

Sergey and Nikolai became friends after they met through Moscow’s tech scene, nearly a decade ago. They were in their early 20s and life was about coding, earning money and having fun. Although they didn’t like Vladimir Putin, politics was something they could afford to ignore.

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