Aron Ouzilevski is reporting on the exodus of Russians fleeing authoritarianism, militarism, mobilization and a deteriorating economy at home before and after the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Based in Tbilisi, Georgia, he travels to other émigré hubs to observe on a granular level how creative and tech professionals, activists, journalists and civil society actors are adapting to new lives and careers, how they are affecting their host countries and what they reflect about Vladimir Putin’s Russia.
Aron holds a joint masters degree in global journalism and Russian/Slavic Studies from New York University. He’s worked as a freelance journalist, editor and cybersecurity analyst. His research and writing has focused on Soviet and contemporary Russian politics and culture, and his work has appeared in The Guardian, The Economist and The Moscow Times.
Dispatches from Aron Ouzilevski
The corroded Silicon Valley of Europe
Escaping war, wealthy Russians, Ukrainians and Belarusians flock to Cyprus’s gray economy
A slice of Moscow in the Balkans
Some 300,000 Russian emigres are building long-term homes in Serbia.
Belarusians in exile haunted by repression at home
But life abroad is enabling the diaspora to reforge a national identity.