Everyone knows him as Andrei, but in Portugal he is called Andrii, a Ukrainian refugee, a subterfuge he used to accelerate his legalization, a complex challenge for many Russians, characterized by the bad image of their country.
“I am Russian, I think in Russian, I speak Russian. I have both passports and I chose the one that favored me the most,” the immigrant, who was given refugee status after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, a war from which he wanted escape Escape, says Lusa.
Son of a family with roots in Belarus and Armenia, born in Donetsk (Ukrainian city invaded by Putin in 2014) from where he left for Sochi in the 1990s, Andrii exemplifies the difficulties many Russians face in European countries, whether in legalization or in actions to support family members.
“Not only are there difficulties in carrying out transactions, but it can also lead to the closure of a bank account. In the first months of this war, I suspended all financial relations with Russia so as not to support the war with my taxes, but sometimes relatives They may have problems, especially with medicines, which are in short supply in Russia, and it is sad that we do not can help.”says Timofey Bugaevsky, leader of the Free Russians in Portugal association, the main immigrant structure in Portugal that is openly anti-Putin and has already organized solidarity actions with the Ukrainian people.
While Russians who receive pensions from Portugal or other European countries can no longer receive that money in Russia, the richest do not ultimately suffer as much and there are always solutions to transfer money through a tax haven or use cryptocurrencies.
“For every sanction there are counter-sanctions that the Russian government implements,” Timofey said.
The impossibility of driving Russian-registered cars in Europe is especially felt in the east of the continent and affects emigrant families, warns Timofey, who would prefer more efforts to “ensure that microchips for missiles, drone parts, gunpowder and the like cannot enter Russia’. which happens indirectly through different countries”.
Regarding the process of regularization of immigrants in Portugal, Timofey Bugaevsky denies that Russians are harmed by the war, pointing the finger at the “high burden currently experienced by immigration authorities.”
Nevertheless, the association’s leader believes that anti-Putin Russians in Portugal – “and there are many” – prefer to “work legally and pay taxes rather than receive aid as refugees.” But people often flee the regime’s repression to save lives or avoid arrest.”
Then, “there are also several cases where people fail to obtain a residence permit or find a job before their savings run out and decide to return” to a regime that could persecute them.
In many cases, “people fleeing the regime run out of time and go to countries that do not require a visa,” such as Kazakhstan or Belarus, places that are “dangerous because they have good relations with the Russian government, so activists can become arrested and deported. .”
Afterwards, “it is difficult to apply for humanitarian visas from these countries, because you have to collect evidence and documents, and it is also not assumed that you are in danger if you are outside Russia,” he emphasized.
“Personally, I think that an analogue of the Nansen passport (a document for stateless persons) is needed as part of building a new Russian government in exile, which can become an alternative power center for people who want to break away from the Russian government in exile. the regime,” Timofey Bugaevsky emphasized.
The leader of the Free Russians blames Putin for this entire tragedy: “The longer they let him destroy the world, the more people will die.”
Sveta Azernikova has lived in Portugal for fourteen years and already has Portuguese citizenship. Sveta, manager of a social media group in Madeira, praises the “ordinary Portuguese,” who “have always been friendly and interested in foreigners, especially those who bring ideas, learn the language and respect the culture.”
However, the “attitude of state institutions and banks has changed a lot, and not for the better,” he says, admitting that he has already felt this firsthand, despite already having citizenship and an active social life.
“Having Russia, Belarus and even the Soviet Union as a place of birth immediately creates a lot of problems for the banks. As a general rule, it is almost impossible for us to open accounts, which prevents normal life and work. “
This happened to Sveta: “The bank did not give us access to our down payment, which we had made five years ago, with which we had saved money for our son’s education. And I am sure that if it had not been for my husband, we wouldn’t have done that. I have been able to use this money so far.”
On a personal level, Sveta Azernikova admits that she is in a difficult situation despite not seeing herself in the regime: “I have difficulty talking to my friends in Russia because they are often afraid or exposed to Russian propaganda .”
At the same time, she admits that it is difficult to talk to her Ukrainian friends: “Because I feel guilty and responsible for the evil that my country is doing.”
From the universe of ongoing processes, there have been about ten thousand requests for regularization from Russians since February last year. They are “Russians who fled the war” and “people who do not accept aggression and murder, people who value freedom, democracy and their own freedom,” Sveta Azernikova explained.
However, these immigrants “have few or no rights in Portugal unless they have requested a temporary protection regime”.
“The majority are on tourist visas and do not formally have the right to apply for this status,” although many are in fact refugees, he says.
Despite the difficulties, Timofey Bugaevsky admits that the specific situation of many Russians cannot be compared with that of those who saw their country invaded.
“I would like to argue that the problems that have arisen with the displaced persons from Russia are not even the problems that Russian troops create for the Ukrainians, and the sooner the aggressor is defeated, the less problems everyone will have,” added the leader of the UN to it. the Free Russians.
Source: DN
