Tens of thousands of people are leaving Russia, even with few routes out of the country

The day that Russia's military beganlaunching strikes across Ukraine, Mikhail Grinberg and his wife,Polina, knew they had to leave. The only question was should they go immediately and just take their passports, or did they have time to pack clothes?

They bought tickets for the next day, Feb. 25, filled some suitcases and flew from Moscow to Riga, the capital of Latvia.

"I definitely want a better future for my family, definitely," said 35-year-old Mikhail,who works as a product manager for the Russian technology companyYandex."But also, it's avoiding this feeling of disgust."

Few routes out of Russia

On Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke about purifying Russian society from "traitors" whose minds are aligned with the West, but tens of thousands of people living in Russia have already made the choice to leave.

Some fear the further isolation of Russia through economic sanctions, which could lead to food and medicine shortages, but others, like the Grinbergs, say they can't stomach living in the country any longer.

With European airspace closed, crossing Russia's border with Finland, Estonia or Latviaare among the only routes out of the country, as long astravellers have the necessary visas.

The Grinbergs headed to Latvia, where more than one-third of the population speaks Russian as their first language, because Polina's relatives live in a community northeast of Riga.

Mikhail had left Russia before. He studied English in Ukraine, and the couple previously lived in the U.K., which is where their two-year-old son, Leo, was born.

They decided to return to Moscow because Mikhail was offered his "dream job" helping to design Yandex's English-language learning platform.

Sense of shame

When the Grinbergswoke up and heard the news of the invasion on Feb. 24, they wanted to leave as soon as they could, but even after they left,guilt followed them.

Polina, 37, burst into tears as she spoke about not being able to sleep at night because she keeps picturing children who have been killed in Ukraine.

"It is so hard for me to concentrate because all I can think of is those pictures that speak to me directly," she said.

As a student in Russia, Mikhail frequently took part in anti-government protests, but he stopped when it became too dangerous.

"I don't have enough courage to risk a prison sentence per se, but I can still do certain things," he said. "I can stop paying tax in Russia."

Mikhail says he will have to get another job somewhere in the European Union, and he understands that he could face some resentment because he is Russian.

He sayshe started looking for employment on the job website LinkedIn and saw a few posts by people who wrote "death to all Russians."

Tensions in Latvia

In Latvia, where there is a significant Russian population, the government expelled three employees of the Russian Embassy on Friday. Latvia's foreign affairs minister said on Twitterthat they were expelled "in connection with activities that are contrary to their diplomatic status," aswell as because of the "ongoing Russian aggression in Ukraine."

Prior to what Russia has dubbed its "special military operation," there wasalready tension in Latvia between the Latvian and Russian communities.

In recent years, there have been protests by Russian groups over government plans to have all schoolsteach classes inLatvian.

There have also been petitions to remove what is unofficially known as a "Victory Memorial"in Riga, which celebrates the Soviet army's win overGermany in the Second World War. On Feb. 25, the memorial was vandalized with blue and yellow paint, the national colours of Ukraine.

The day before, the Latvian governmentstopped issuing Schengen visas to Russian citizens. The visas allow them to enter Latvia and travel through 26 European countries. Russians are now not allowed to cross the Latvian border unless they already have the proper paperwork, but the visas are being issued to Ukrainian citizens living in Russia. Russia is home to the largest diaspora of Ukrainians in the world.

'The government does what it wants'

At the Terehova border crossing in southeast Latvia, a steady stream of people carried luggage and bags between the Russian and Latvian checkpoints on Wednesday,when a CBCNews crew visited. After being dropped off on the Russian side of the border, they walked across to Latvia.

Nearly all of the people approached by CBC said they were Ukrainian including a group of nurses from Russia who were on their way to Ukraine, where they planned to help out in a military hospital.

Halyna Poberezhna, 55, who worked in a hospital in Moscow for the past 15 years,saysshehas no plans to return.

"Because of what they are doing now to our people, they are now enemies for centuries," said Poberezhna, who paid a mini-bus driver to pick her up in Latvia.

A few hundredmetres away, 73-year old Lyidia was being escorted by her 12-year-old grandson, YegorSeminov, through passport control.

She is a Ukrainian who has lived in Russia for years.

"People are outraged," she said. "But the government does what it wants."

WATCH | Russians who oppose invasion of Ukraine flee abroad:

Russians who oppose the war flee abroad

3 years ago

Duration 2:36

Russians are choosing to leave their country over feelings of disgust, guilt and outrage about the war in Ukraine. Its drawing the ire of President Vladimir Putin, who called Russians opposed to the invasion, scum and traitors.