Russian President Vladimir Putin’s announcement of a partial military mobilization on Wednesday sent shockwaves through Buryatia, a mountainous republic in eastern Siberia some 3,500 miles from Moscow.
As military recruiters began knocking on doors with summons in hand and almost a dozen schools in the region’s capital have been transformed into conscription centers, activists say some men in remote areas have resorted to hiding in the forest while others flee the country, with lengthy lines reported at the country’s land borders.
