I barely have any relatives left in Russia. Most left.

Those who are still there would leave too but they are constrained by their visa situation.

I left with my family in 2013. Never went back.

My Mom left a few months ago after the war started. She had always opposed Putin’s regime but for many years I struggled to persuade her to leave Russia. She was too attached to her home. Sometimes I was frustrated, sometimes I sympathized — it’s never easy for an older person to abandon home. But the war changed everything. She and my stepfather packed their bags and left the country for good.

My Mom’s younger brother left Russia last year, before the war. For many years he’d been looking for ways to leave the country. It wasn’t easy, it never is. Where do you work? How do you legally immigrate? He ended up emigrating to … Macedonia. He has two kids. His son emigrated many years ago. He’s somewhere in Europe. Austria or Switzerland. His daughter married a Swede last year and is now in Sweden.

My mother’s mom — she’s almost eighty years old — is in Moscow. She is actually pro-Putin (the old generation!) but would leave Russia immediately if it weren’t for her expired US visa. We’re trying to find a solution; it’s very complicated but we’re hopeful.

My wife’s brother left Russia with his family five years ago. They kind of followed us after we left in 2013. They’re now in San Jose in California. They’re not privileged in any way. They often struggle to make ends meet but they’re…