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Russia manages to compete with even the most war-ravaged countries.In 2013, for instance, 39,800 Russian citizens applied to the governments of 44 developed countries (37,000 of them to EU countries). This put Russia in second place after Syria among countries with the greatest number of applicants for political asylum (the last time this happened was in 2007).

Source: Taking refuge – 12/29/2016 (Publication: Khodorkovsky)

“I do not have any choice. I cannot go back to Russia right now. I need to stay till … well … as long as Putin is President of Russia, nothing will change in Chechnya” . . . Now he is taking part in a year-long integration programme that gives refugees time to learn Polish, find a place to live, a job, and to integrate themselves into Polish society.

Related: http://politicalcritique.org/cee/poland/2016/forgotten-refugees-chechen-asylum-seekers-in-poland/ – 2/11/2016.

A former employee of the Kadyrov government, Abdullah says he was beaten twice by the authorities in Grozny for refusing to join Chechen volunteers fighting alongside Moscow-backed rebels in Ukraine’s breakaway regions and for giving information to human rights groups. He is convinced that remaining in Brest presents an increasing danger to his life.

Before parliamentary elections in Russia this month, Human Rights Watch accused Kadyrov of attempting to build a “tyranny” within Chechnya. A 70-page report entitled Like Walking a Minefield says that the Chechen strongman has used his nearly decade-long tenure to eradicate all forms of criticism and political dissent.

http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2016/09/asylum-seekers-stranded-europe-dictatorship-160919191015494.html – 10/5/2016.

https://www.hrw.org/report/2016/08/30/walking-minefield/vicious-crackdown-critics-russias-chechen-republic – 8/30/2016.

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