“Ban Russian Tourists. Let In Asylum Seekers”

“Who owns Kherson?” a Russian woman shouted at two Ukrainian refugees in a recently circulated video. “Kherson is Ukraine!” the two women responded. “F*ck your Ukraine,” said the Russian woman.

This example of public harassment, which occurred on August 9th, was abhorrent, but doubly so because it occurred not on the front line of the war but in downtown Salzburg, Austria. 

Julia Porohova, a Russian national, ran a Telegram account where she would brag about harassing Ukrainian refugees as well as how she was paying for her trip to Austria with Russian rubles from a sanctioned bank. Fortunately, after this story went viral on the internet, she faced some repercussions for her actions: her hotel reservations in Vienna were canceled by the booking agency. Porohova, however, was not kicked out of Germany, where she claimed to be living illegally as far as the public is aware. 

This isn’t an isolated incident. On August 20th, the wife of Dmitry Peskov, Putin’s head propagandist, was recorded partying in Greece. And on September 14th a Ukrainian refugee center in Barcelona was graffitied with the pro-Russian Z symbol. All across Europe, Russian tourists, many of them wealthy or involved with the Putin Regime, continue to stay at first-class hotels and shop for designer handbags while their home country murders and displaces thousands. Every day that Russians are allowed to flood into Europe is an affront to the Ukrainian citizens who continue to bear the brunt of this horrific war of aggression.

According to EU law, once Russians are admitted by one member nation they can then travel freely through any other. This means that the eight member states with restrictions on Russian visas, including many Nordic and Baltic states, still can’t stop the flow of tourists into their countries. The main opponents to an EU wide visa ban are France and Germany, who claim in a joint statement, “While understanding the concerns of some member states in this context we should not underestimate the transformative power of experiencing life in democratic systems at first hand, especially for future generations.”

So far the Russian public has shown itself to be at best apathetic to the war in Ukraine. According to independent polling only 23% oppose it. Trying to sway Russians onto our side by pursuing neutral policies has not worked. However, sanctions and travel bans that make sure Russian elites can’t carry on business as usual while their government continues its genocide of Ukrainian people have been effective. Unless the EU works unilaterally to close the escape hatch for pro-war Russians, there will inevitably be more ugly incidents like the ones in Austria, Greece and Spain.

While I applaud Finland and the Baltic states for trying to stop wealthy elites and Putin confidantes from removing themselves from the chaos they’ve created, these same countries are moving to ban Russians fleeing the recently announced draft. This is a big mistake. These countries argue that those fleeing only started to care when it was their safety on the line, which is true, but how many of us could say we would stand up to the enormity of the Russian state? Many of the Russians fleeing likely protested the regime, only to be arrested and tortured. It’s unrealistic to expect ordinary Russians to give their lives up fighting their government. If they don’t have ties to Putin and his oligarchs, and are ready to give up their lives in Russia, they should be allowed to apply for asylum. What’s most worrying is the fact that many of these would-be asylum seekers will be drafted into the army if they aren’t able to flee, which will directly hurt the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

The EU should also leave the door open for special visa applicants such as dissidents, journalists and human rights activists. Anyone who has proven themselves to be committed to one of these endeavors should earn the right to travel to Europe. Keeping this channel between Russia and the West is important because it can keep the flow of information moving and weaken the Russian government. 

This issue requires us to differentiate between the rich and well-connected, who use travel to Europe to avoid the consequences of their actions, and the ordinary people fleeing government oppression and the draft. I only hope that the EU can make this distinction in unison as tourists as well as refugees continue to flock towards the border.