0:06

This is a story about Russia and

0:08

its Rune's War. But

0:12

I wanted to start telling it here. By

0:15

the Galata Bridge in Istanbul. The

0:20

ferry is on the Bosford Strait, the steep

0:22

cobble streets, the cafes, they

0:24

all bear witness to huge exodus.

0:27

Thousands of Russians fled here as soon as

0:29

the war in Ukraine started a year ago.

0:34

Their flight echoed one made

0:36

a century ago when many Russians

0:39

fled violence of the Bolsheviks and war.

0:45

Those events changed the course of the twentieth

0:48

century, and this war is already changing

0:50

the twenty first. I've

0:54

come to Istanbul to speak to this new generation

0:57

of exiles. Because their

0:59

stories helped solve the mystery

1:02

of why this senseless war began

1:04

and how it might end. I'm

1:13

Arkadia Strowski. I write about Russia

1:15

and Ukraine for the economist. I'm

1:18

the host of a new podcast series called

1:20

Next Year in Moscow. Last

1:26

February, hours before the war started,

1:29

Vladimir Zelensky posted a video.

1:31

The Ukrainian president was speaking directly

1:34

to Russia's free thinkers and Russian. Who

1:40

can prevent this war, he asks, Lorde,

1:43

the people he says. Public

1:49

figures, journalists, musicians. Actors,

1:55

athletes, scientists, doctors, bloggers,

1:58

stand up comedians, social media

2:00

influences, and more. These

2:04

are the people who fled Russia in the

2:06

coming days. I

2:12

clearly remember this feeling that

2:14

this is not my fault anymore.

2:17

Everything changed just in one second.

2:20

I felt the urge to call my

2:22

dad and I called him I

2:25

was crying. I was saying, I'm terrified. I don't know what

2:27

to do, and I'm so scared.

2:30

When you live in Russia or in

2:32

many, than free country.

2:34

You have to have red lines. You

2:37

have to be ready to leave. The

2:41

invasion destroyed their hopes that Russia

2:43

might become a normal, non violent country.

2:47

Well, My country started

2:50

this awful one. I think

2:52

that this shame will be with us

2:54

for the rest of our lives. In

2:57

this war, Ukraine has gained a new

2:59

sense of nationhood, but the future

3:02

of Russia is now in doubt.

3:05

Can it ever be a place that

3:07

these exiles once again

3:10

call home? The

3:12

search for answers has taken me across Europe

3:14

and the Middle East and along the fringes

3:17

of the old Soviet empire. Ultimately,

3:21

it led me to people who've chosen to keep

3:23

light and hope alive inside Russia.

3:31

Look for next year in Moscow on your

3:33

podcast app. Episode

3:36

one, is available from the twenty third

3:38

of February.