Recent news has revealed an overwhelming exodus of young Russians leaving their country, as they seek to avoid Mr Putin’s clutches for his military campaign within Ukraine. Therefore, Russia has started forcing dentists, doctors and all government staff to surrender their passports. A complete travel ban is in place for these important figures within the Russian state and society. A flood of Russians, usually well-off Russians, have already left for a variety of bolt-holes worldwide. Bali has received a bunch of Russians and Ukrainians. Cyprus has got its fair share of cashed up Ruskies too.

“Vladimir Putin’s military draft following his invasion of Ukraine has triggered a flood of Russians moving to nearby countries with visa-free entry, such as Turkey or Georgia. For some wealthier citizens, an alluring alternative has opened on a faraway island in the Caribbean. Demand from wealthy Russians looking to flee is helping drive the spike in applications for Grenada’s citizenship by investment initiative, according to Richard Hallam, a special adviser to the program. He estimates they could make up the biggest chunk of applicants this year.”
–       https://www.afr.com

It is too easy to clump all Russians into the bad actor camp because of their nation’s leader and his invasion of Ukraine. We all need to remember that our nationality does not automatically define our humanity. There will be a lot of Russian dentists who are appalled by what Putin has unleashed in Ukraine. I am sure that the beach volleyball in Bali is no way spiteful despite all those thousands of Russian and Ukrainian emigres. Bali may, indeed, be a good place to get your teeth seen to in 2023 and beyond.

Russian Dentists Biting Down On Border Controls Stifling Their Travel Plans

It is all those Russian dentists and doctors who can’t get out of their own country that we might feel most for. Surrendering your passport in Russia must feel like a sentence on its own to bear. Meanwhile, it is pertinent to remember that the Russian dental sector is virtually entirely dependent on European and US imports for equipment and materials. These supply chains are completely halted due to trade sanctions. So, Russians are dreading a return to Soviet era yellow teeth and iron fillings. Quality dentistry has been a feature of the post-Soviet times and a return to the bad old days fills no one with good cheer. Smiles are thinning in the streets.

“Getting one’s teeth treated has always been a luxury, and now even more so,” says Inna, the owner of a dental clinic in the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk. “No matter how much you care for your patients, it’s impossible to keep the same prices. She gives the example of an American filling material called Filtek, which in February cost 1,800 rubles ($33). “Now, you can’t find it for less than 4,300 ($79),” she says. “But the demand is still there.” 
   
Dentists trapped at home in Russia will be doing it tough for the foreseeable future whilst this war lasts. The dental business is a high technology sector and, therefore, highly dependent on imports from the west. Prices going up dramatically mean limited supplies of materials and that is only going to get worse.

Playing Russian Roulette With Your Teeth

We all know that terrible game with the gun they call Russian Roulette from the movies. Spinning the chamber and praying that a bullet is not going to blow your head off when you pull the trigger. Well, dentists are having to seek out alternative materials for all sorts of important dental work and there will be plenty of dodgy stuff presented in the hope of making a fast buck. Going to the dentist in Russia is going to be a risky proposition from now on, according to those in the know at dental clinics across the land. Russians will be leaving the country in droves to get their teeth fixed, if they can get a passport out of the country.

As Russia forces dentists, doctors and all government staff to surrender passports in a bid to stem the flow of departing citizens, these important members of their society are now also under Putin’s scrutiny since the invasion of Ukraine by Russian forces.

The Russian authorities have invited tenders for a contract worth 830 million rubles ($11.3 million) for the provision of facial recognition technology at some of its land borders, according to an announcement on Russia’s public procurement portal reported by independent Russian media outlet Polygon on Thursday. The facial recognition technology, which is to be installed at multiple Russian border crossings with China, Kazakhstan, Poland and Lithuania, is intended for the cross-checking of traveler identities (The Moscow Times, 9 Feb 2023) with data stored in a “biometric database,” though the tender call gave no further details.

Government officials have been part of the exodus from Russia, especially since the announcement of military conscription on 21 September 2022. A third of the officials serving in the Moscow mayor’s office have fled the country since the announcement, according to the independent news agency Nestka. (Isabel Van Brugen, Newsweek, 24 Jan 2023)

From Russia With Love

Doctors and dentists are under the gaze of security forces amid further crackdowns on the population in Russia. Russian society is feeling the strain, as this war on Ukraine committed by Russia extends beyond the 12 month mark. Young members of the educated class in Russia are getting out wherever and whenever they can. The exodus to places like Bali, Grenada, and states around the borders of Russia continue to grow. From Russia with Love has a new pertinence in the current clime with the plethora of emigres leaving Mother Russia for an undecided period of time.

Drilling down into their reasons for leaving Russia we would posit that Mr Putin is at the heart of the decay determining their decision to flee to safer shores. Will the rising tide of toothaches across the country become a vital part of the Russian people’s resistance to their autocratic despot and his war mongering? Only time will tell whether yellow teeth and iron fillings push the people to rise up and overthrow the regime.

Meanwhile, the beach volleyball in Bali between Ukrainian and Russian emigres, often young, good looking and with cosmetically-enhanced smiles, may become the first symbolic step toward some future peace.

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