# Should I be concerned about reaching out to my Russian friends? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Tags:** ukraine-invasion\ **Created:** [March 4, 2022, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-be-concerned-about-reaching-out-to-my-russian-friends/960484 "2022-03-04T22:58:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2022, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-be-concerned-about-reaching-out-to-my-russian-friends/960484/21 "2022-03-05T15:24:19Z")
@JoseB: I am so sorry. What a horrible situation. And to the OP: I agree with others here that it’s best for you to just stay quiet and wait for your friends to make the next contact, if they ever do. ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2022, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-be-concerned-about-reaching-out-to-my-russian-friends/960484/22 "2022-03-05T17:36:47Z")
My sympathies; that situation sounds terrifying. ---
**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2022, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-be-concerned-about-reaching-out-to-my-russian-friends/960484/23 "2022-03-05T19:59:21Z")
Wow JoseB! So I assume she can’t leave, even with her Spanish passport? Thst sucks. ---
**Author:** ![JoseB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/joseb/32/1530_2.png) [@JoseB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoseB)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2022, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-be-concerned-about-reaching-out-to-my-russian-friends/960484/24 "2022-03-05T20:29:23Z")
The problem is (1) no direct flights between Russia and Europe, (2) whether Russia will close its borders anyway. Option (A) (direct flights) is not available. Option (B) would be to get out via some third country airline that is not yet blocked from the respective airspace; whether that is practicable is another question. Option (C) would be to try and cross by land a EU border, which would have to be either the Baltics or Finland, and from there west. I have no idea what would be practicable, and how much longer Russia’s borders will remain crossable (even with a reasonably good passport like the Spanish one). Also I have no idea what kind of expenses would have to be incurred, and whether it will be doable. I have no idea whether I would be able to help materially in that case. Everything is extremely shitty. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2022, 9:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-be-concerned-about-reaching-out-to-my-russian-friends/960484/25 "2022-03-06T09:21:37Z")
The rather obvious advice would be to talk about anything other than politics. But right now, what else is there to talk about? Is a puzzlement. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/OCSLO6ih-GQ/maxresdefault.jpg "A Puzzlement (Remastered 2001)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCSLO6ih-GQ) ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2022, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-be-concerned-about-reaching-out-to-my-russian-friends/960484/26 "2022-03-06T12:15:02Z")
Flights from A to B via C is a standard thing, you have to check that there are flights/seats available though. I would be at least as worried about whether anyone is going to be issued exit visas; they have traditionally been a problem, with some people waiting over a decade for a USSR exit visa. ---
**Author:** ![Mikkel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikkel/32/13151_2.png) [@Mikkel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mikkel)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2022, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-be-concerned-about-reaching-out-to-my-russian-friends/960484/27 "2022-03-06T12:30:26Z")
As of a few days back, there was flights from Russia to Turkey and of course from Turkey to a lot of places. AFAIK there still is. ---
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2022, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-be-concerned-about-reaching-out-to-my-russian-friends/960484/28 "2022-03-06T20:31:44Z")
Also the train running between St. Petersburg and Helsinki. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2022, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-be-concerned-about-reaching-out-to-my-russian-friends/960484/29 "2022-03-06T20:34:21Z")
is there any land transport from Russia to Poland? @JoseB , so sorry to hear that your daughter’s in this situation. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2022, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-be-concerned-about-reaching-out-to-my-russian-friends/960484/30 "2022-03-07T01:02:45Z")
With headlines like this, it might be best to err on the side of caution: > **[Moscow police demand people's phones and read their messages | JOE.co.uk](https://www.joe.co.uk/news/moscow-police-demand-peoples-phones-and-read-their-messages-321337)** > > Shocking footage has emerged online of Moscow police demanding the phones of passers-by, before scrolling through their messages. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2022, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-be-concerned-about-reaching-out-to-my-russian-friends/960484/31 "2022-03-07T01:09:58Z")
To give you some idea of what Russians believe is going on, see [this BBC News article](https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-60600487) about a 25-year-old woman in Kharkiv named Oleksandra who tried to tell her mother in Moscow what is going on. > “I didn’t want to scare my parents, but I started telling them directly that civilians and children are dying,” she says. > > “But even though they worry about me, they still say it probably happens only by accident, that the Russian army would never target civilians. That it’s Ukrainians who’re killing their own people.” (BTW the article has an amusing photo of one of Oleksandra’s dogs.) ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2022, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-be-concerned-about-reaching-out-to-my-russian-friends/960484/32 "2022-03-07T01:14:11Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > is there any land transport from Russia to Poland? I don’t believe Russia and Poland share a border unless you are already in Kaliningrad. The Moscow–Paris express runs through Poland, though. But who knows how often that train is running right now (I just tried online and it said to talk to a human about getting tickets). ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2022, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-be-concerned-about-reaching-out-to-my-russian-friends/960484/33 "2022-03-07T01:24:46Z")
yes, you’d have to go through Belorus. Just wondered if that could be an option ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2022, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-be-concerned-about-reaching-out-to-my-russian-friends/960484/34 "2022-03-07T01:27:23Z")
Googling, it appears that Emirates is still flying to Moscow. And I suspect that flights to China or India might also still be available. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2022, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-be-concerned-about-reaching-out-to-my-russian-friends/960484/35 "2022-03-07T01:30:08Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > To give you some idea of what Russians believe is going on, see [this BBC News article](https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-60600487) about a 25-year-old woman in Kharkiv named Oleksandra who tried to tell her mother in Moscow what is going on. Similar story from CBC: > [@](#): > > She had come on a train with her two-year-old son, Bogdan, from Kharkiv a few days earlier to stay with friends in Lviv. She said her husband, Yaroslavl, stayed behind in Kharkiv to help with evacuation efforts. > > “We were in my mother’s house, which is close to a kindergarten, when artillery hit the kindergarten,” Solomko said. > > She said two shells struck the building next to the one they were in, destroying all of the windows in her mother’s apartment, but the family wasn’t hurt. They decided to get out the next day. > … > “I talk to people in Russia, but they are living in another reality,” she said. > > “They don’t understand what is going on with us.” > > Solomko said even her father, who lives in Russia, refuses to believe her when she tells him about the devastation from the Russian bombing campaign and how it is reducing Ukrainian cities to rubble. > > “He wrote me, ‘Don’t worry, they will come and save you from the Nazis,’” she said. “He doesn’t understand what the war is.” > **[Little forgiveness for Russia on 'Forgiveness Sunday' in Ukraine | CBC News](https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/ukraine-russia-war-forgiveness-1.6374803)** > > At a church service in Lvyv, Ukraine, the priest urged the congregation to forgive Russia for invading their country — but only so that Ukrainian soldiers won't be infected by the poisoned thinking behind it. One woman who listened to the plea said... ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2022, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-be-concerned-about-reaching-out-to-my-russian-friends/960484/36 "2022-03-07T01:43:10Z")
To be honest, these don’t sound that different from conversations I’ve had wit Americans when I was home from Iraq. ---
**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2022, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-be-concerned-about-reaching-out-to-my-russian-friends/960484/37 "2022-03-07T06:14:08Z")
So, my friend did reach out to me. He asked for pics, which I sent. While no mention of the Ukraine conflict, he basically referred to it by stating that it was unlikely that we’d ever meet on either of our continents again, and that we should meet up again in another part of the world. I wanted to ask about his parents, but left it alone. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-be-concerned-about-reaching-out-to-my-russian-friends/960484.md?page=1)