Up to NOK 93,000 for a plane ticket outside Russia

After the packing order, many Russians want to leave. On Wednesday, it cost up to NOK 93,000 for a round-trip economy ticket from Moscow to Istanbul or Dubai.

On Wednesday, panic appeared to spread among the Russian men who would risk ordering Ukraine and war. Shortly after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered partial mobilization, flights from Moscow to Istanbul began selling. The same thing happened with flights to other destinations, such as Dubai and Yerevan in Armenia and Belgrade in Serbia.

A one-way plane ticket to Istanbul or Dubai in economy class was sold on Wednesday for as much as 93,000 Norwegian kroner, according to the Associated Press (AP).

When Aftenposten searched for tickets from Moscow to Istanbul on Wednesday evening, all Turkish Airlines flights were sold out until Wednesday of next week. In a week it is possible to get a return ticket for just over 18,000 NOK.

With Aeroflot, the first possibility was on Monday next week. The price was 17,000 NOK.

It is not known who can be mobilized

The Russian Defense Minister said, on Wednesday, that 300,000 men who were in military service and are part of the reserves may be called up. According to the Russian authorities, there are 20-30 million Russians in the reserve. But it is not clear exactly which of them risk being sent to war in Ukraine.

Russia desperately needed new soldiers. The exact number of dead or wounded is not known. US authorities believe it could be around 80,000.

Uncertainty about who might now risk being sent to war in Ukraine, and the many deaths, may contribute to the fact that Russian men may now be leaving Russia.

Sales boom in Turkey

The fear of mobilization had already led to a record number of Russians buying homes in Turkey before the partial mobilization. So far this year, the sale of homes to foreigners in Turkey has increased by 57 percent compared to last year. Shows official numbers. In June, demand was at a record level.

The Russians are clearly in the lead, Aftenposten wrote over the weekend.

Russians can travel to Turkey without a visa. Turkish citizenship is granted to those who invest at least 400 thousand dollars. The solution can then be to buy a house in Turkey.

Many of those buying are men who fear being sent to Ukraine to fight.

Finland will refuse entry to Russian tourists

Finland is one of the countries that risks receiving many Russian visitors. They asked the European Union to set rules that would make it possible to refuse entry.

But they do not expect an immediate solution from the European Union. Therefore, Finland itself must find a solution to stop or limit the number of Russian tourists coming to the country. This is what Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto said. to Hufvudstadsbladet.

Cross-border traffic between Russia and Finland has been active in recent days. The Finnish-Russian border is the only one that has been opened for those who want to take the land route to the European Union, after the Baltic states, among other countries, put an end to Russian citizens.

Haavisto says Finland does not want to be a transit country for Russians who want to enter the EU.

– The goal is primarily to radically reduce the number of Russian tourists who come to Finland, he tells the Finnish newspaper.

Finland’s foreign minister said there were no plans to completely close the border.

Russians shocked the border

The newspaper wrote that on the Finnish-Russian border, on Wednesday, there was a great deal of uncertainty among the Russians trying to cross the border. Helsingin Sanomat.

– I am shocked. I cannot understand Putin’s plans, says Olga Podkevits to the newspaper.

She and her parents left Saint Petersburg with her parents on Wednesday morning. Her 22-year-old boyfriend does not have a visa, and it is not clear if he will be able to leave the country.

With expensive plane tickets torn up, the route has become an alternative for many. Then Finland is one of the few countries that Russians can travel to. Poland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have closed their borders to Russians, even those with Schengen visas.

– Estonia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Urmas Reinsalu, told Reuters news agency on Wednesday that not doing a civic duty or wanting not to do so is not enough to get asylum in another country.

Latvia also clarifies that it will not grant visas to Russian citizens trying to avoid mobilization.

– For security reasons, Latvia will not issue humanitarian or other types of visas to Russian citizens who want to avoid mobilization, Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevix wrote on Twitter.

Schengen countries have already frozen a visa agreement with Russia. This resulted in a Russian visa costing more than 800 NOK, while before that it cost around 350 NOK. In addition, the waiting time became very long and many people refused visa applications.