Four years after Russia’s wartime exodus began, another wave may be starting. Political scientist Margarita Zavadskaya on what we’ve learned about Russian emigration since 2022.

In 2026, Russians are once again leaving the country en masse. For them, the long process of building a new life almost from scratch is only beginning. Meanwhile, many emigrants have already lived in several countries — and still haven’t found a place to settle down. Others have found a genuine new home, while still others have returned to Russia. Meduza spoke with political scientist Margarita Zavadskaya, a senior research fellow at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs and one of the co-founders of the OutRush project, which studies Russian emigration, about adapting to life abroad,