Arriving in the middle of the night at my Tbilisi hotel recently for a research project, I was told that my reservation had been rescinded and the hotel was now fully booked. A huge busload of Russian men had arrived at the hotel before me and were willing to pay more than the advertised price. I found it difficult to find a spare room in Tbilisi, but this was not surprising.
Days earlier the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, had announced a military mobilisation of 300,000 men, regardless of their military experience. Within hours, young Russians were packing their belongings and fleeing to Georgia, Turkey and other neighbouring countries.
On the Russian-Georgian border, cars have been waiting for hours in long lines of traffic. Though some of those fleeing may be against the war, most are just fearful for their own lives.
