Escaping War Service – The Story of Sergei, Cyril and Eugene

Riga, Istanbul, Stockholm, Berlin Kyrill, who actually has a different name, was not able to take much with him. A backpack, the pockets of the parka filled to the brim with personal belongings. But he sits on the most important utensil. “I took my bike with me from St. Petersburg,” he says. One day after the mobilization he decided to leave his country. He took the bus to the Russian-Finnish border in Svetogorsk. “I needed the bike because the Finns don’t let pedestrians into the country,” he says.

Sergej, 24, whose name has also been changed, has pitched his tent on a hiking trail. The small mountain village on Turkey’s south coast is an unusual place to escape recruitment. But he feels safe here, “and besides, I can take my mind off things,” he explains. “It was pure coincidence that I had booked a ticket to Turkey for the day.” Sergej’s name is also different.