Protestors are packed into police vans like sardines. Police batons crack hauntingly. One young woman is hauled away. "We just want to protect our boys," she wails. The slogan ubiquitousEverywhere. outside of Russia but all too rare within its borders blares around her: "No to war!"

This is the people's response to Putin's mobilisation. Protests raged around Russia on Wednesday night and led to almost 1,400 arrests. Russians previously untouched by the war feel it creeping more and more into their lives. "Now, everybody knows someone who will go to war," says 29-year-old Anatoly Khirstov, from KazanAn industrial city in Russia's west. It is the capital of the Tatar Autonomous Republic. .

The photos emerging from Russia might imply a passionate surge of opposition, but the reality is muted. The first anti-war protests in February and March saw over 4,300 arrests across 21 cities.

Some of those arrested for protesting were served draft papers which could force them into the Russian army. Reporters at the scene were issued with subpoenasA legal document summoning someone to go to court. . Social media clips allegedly show police casually murdering a female protestor in Moscow.

Now, many are scrambling to get out. A huge wave of Russian political migrants will sweep Tbilisi, YerevanThe capital of Armenia. , Dubai, Istanbul and beyond. Khirstov tells The Day: "When I left Russia at the beginning of the war, there was no system in place to help us. Now, the expat community is coming together to help people leave. We understand their feelings and their panic."

One Telegram called "Border Control" has more than 245,000 subscribers writing about their experiences trying to leave the country. One user, who flew from Moscow to Yerevan, was petrifiedVery scared or terrified.: "The border guards asked me when I bought my ticket, whether I am eligible for military service, whether I received draft papers. My knees shook with fear."

Russians' resignation on regime change may surprise many. Russia has a long history of autocraticRelating to a ruler with total power. rulers, but it also has a vibrant and proud history of dissidenceThe act of publicly disagreeing with government or public policy. .

In its 1917 Revolution, protestors endured police violence in a vast organised uprising that forced the abdication of the last TsarTitle given to an emperor of Russia before the revolution of 1917. The word was originally used for the Bulgarian monarchs in the 10th Century, but can also be used to refer to anyone with absolute power. and ended centuries of rule by the RomanovThe House of Romanov family ruled Russia from 1613 to 1917. dynasty.

The most reveredHighly respected. Russian-language writers are those who defied censors. Anna Akhmatova made each of her friends memorise a few lines from her epic anti-Stalin poem Requiem so that it would never be discovered by authorities. Writers such as Boris Pasternak, Osip Mandelshtam and Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn risked their safety distributing anti-regime fiction and poetry via samizdatA system of self-publishing in the Soviet Union whereby works could be secretly printed and distributed..

So why are Russians choosing to flee, rather than to fight? "The problem," 41-year-old KrasnodarA city of one million in southern Russia. native Daria Nikolaeva, tells The Day, "is with apathy and the imperialist mindset."

"Protesting is hard, but we also cannot forget that the majority of Russians still support the war against Ukraine."

Some say that Russia's hopes lie abroad. Dmitriy Borodin, who left St PetersburgA port city on the Baltic Sea and the second largest city in Russia. at the start of the war, is clear: "Russian expats are organising, planning, and trying to show support for Ukraine."

*Some names have been changed to protect people who spoke to us in confidence.

Putin up with it?

Yes: Russians want to shake off autocratic rule, especially now that it is endangering their loved ones. Putin's actions are those of a desperate man who knows that his political life is ending its tenure.

No: The Russian people are being terrorised into submission. They could have started a revolution when the war began, but they faced a price that many thought was too high to pay. Now, the danger is emerging.

Or... It is hard to tell. How can Russians start a revolution when they cannot take peacefully to the streets, or even text their friends privately? At the same time, it is clear that Russians are reaching the end of what they can tolerate.