- A female doctor told Insider she fled Russia because she feared being called up to serve in Ukraine.
- A compulsory course in her medical degree meant that she was automatically enrolled as a reserve officer.
It's not just men fleeing Russia after the announcement of partial military mobilization.
Varvara, who asked only to be referred to by her first name, was working as a doctor in St. Petersburg when she began to fear that she may be called up.
Unwilling to serve under any circumstances, she packed her bags, said a sad goodbye to her husband, and left in a hurry.
"I'd been planning to immigrate to Germany for a while for work," she told Insider. "But because of partial mobilization, I had to speed this up."
The majority of doctors in Russia are women
Varvara had been planning to move to Germany with her husband in November. She'd been offered a job at a hospital there, and the couple, making plans for their future, looked forward to starting a new life together.
But when Russian President Vladimir Putin announced partial mobilization on September 21, notifying 300,000 reservists with military experience that they would soon be called up, Varvara began to get anxious.
"It was impossible to think of participating," she said. "This is not our war."
The partial mobilization announcement was understood to primarily refer to male reservists, but a spokesperson for Russia's mobilization department told state media in September that a small number of women with certain military specialties — including medical professionals — could be called on to take some positions.
A majority – approximately 70% – of the more than 700,000 doctors in Russia are women.
Tamilla Imanova, a lawyer from the Memorial Human Rights Center, speculated to Meduza that female physicians were already being drafted "en masse."
In October, Russian defense minister Sergey Shoigu clarified to reporters that women were not being called up. However, Varvara had already left the country by this point. Besides, she said, she is skeptical of this claim, given that reports suggest that Russia is not following all aspects of the decree.
'We didn't think of the consequences'
As part of Varvara's medical training, which took place almost two decades ago, she had to complete a military training course at her university. It was the norm for some time in Russia but was no longer mandatory post-2010.
"At the time of the course, we didn't think of the consequences of that or what that might mean," Varvara said.
Having completed the mandatory course, she was automatically enrolled as a specialist officer in the Russian reserves. There was an option to opt out a few years ago, she said, but Varvara never got around to it.
Varvara's status as a reservist officer, as well as her medical training, convinced her that she would be in the next wave of mobilizations. She was was nervous that she might receive a draft summons soon — a fear compounded by rumblings that female nurses in her hospital had already received notices.
"The hurry in which I left the country also has to do with the fact that I thought if I was to receive a draft notice, that would automatically mean that I'm forbidden from leaving the country," Varvara said. "I would not be allowed to cross the border."
So, Varvara made the decision to run. Her husband had not yet received his visa for Germany, so she reluctantly had to make the journey alone.
"In a wave of panic, I was planning to leave through Kazakhstan, but then there was news of people queuing for three days and of issues at the border," she said. "I calmed myself down, replanned, and left through the Finnish border."
She said that because she is a woman, she was asked relatively few questions by border officials about her reasons for leaving. Russian authorities did not question her, she said, and Finnish border officials approved her entry because she had a German visa.
Once in Finland, she bought a flight to Germany. She declined to specify where she was living, citing fears that it could identify her.
She is now waiting anxiously in Germany, hoping that her husband will be able to join her in November. She said that, sadly, she foresees no immediate return to Russia.
"It's where I have relatives, friends, and social connections. But at the moment, the threat for me outweighs anything else, and I'm not wanting to return," she said.
A passport stamp that declares that she is liable for military service
But others have no plans of leaving Russia, despite sharing a similar fear of being drafted because of their medical background.
Sonia Subbotina, the girlfriend of jailed anti-war artist Alexandra Skochilenko, told Insider that she intends to remain indefinitely in St. Petersburg to care for Skochilenko.
She is, however, nervous that her degrees in nursing and pharmaceutics and a passport stamp that declares that she is liable for military service means she could soon be called up.
"I feel anxious because right now I need to be in St. Petersburg and take care of Sasha's case - bring her parcels with food and medicine, negotiate doctor's visits, and discuss the defense strategy with her lawyer," she said. Skochilenko, who has been in a temporary detention center for more than half a year, is struggling with a variety of health conditions.
Being drafted because of her medical background could result in her being sent to Ukraine. But Subbotina steadfastly said she would refuse to serve and is prepared to deal with whatever the consequences may be.
"I will not participate in this war in any capacity," she said. "The woman I love is in prison because of this war. The Russian invasion of Ukraine destroyed our life in the middle of April. If I receive a draft notice, I will ignore it. If they start searching for me, I'd rather go to prison."