"You took off all your uniforms, hung all your statuses on the wall like marathon medals—they're not here, no one needs them here. You're basically starting from scratch."
In November 2022, the First Vice Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of the Krasnoyarsk Territory Sergei Popov He resigned from his post "of his own volition." He represented United Russia in the regional parliament for over ten years. Before that, he had built a long and successful career at RUSAL. And then, suddenly, he hurriedly left for Bulgaria and disappeared from the radar.
"I made this decision on February 24th," Popov told Borus journalists in his first interview in two years. "Until the very end, I didn't believe it was possible. Until the very end, I couldn't believe it was already happening. I was a Soviet schoolboy; I was taught many good things. It's still hard for me to talk about it, but back then, I just cried."
Like many emigrants, Sergei Popov lives in Bulgaria started life from scratch — enrolled in data science and data analytics courses, is trying to launch projects using his new knowledge, and is simultaneously running a Telegram channel about the daily lives of Russian-speaking relocated people in Bulgaria.
"It became important to find yourself in a new world. You've taken off all your uniforms, hung all your statuses on the wall like marathon medals—they're not here, no one needs them here. You're basically starting from scratch. You need to get used to it. It takes quite a while. And that's normal; it's a very interesting experience. Not relaxing when you're approaching 50 is interesting." — explains Popov.
He believes that leaving power and the establishment is not about a relationship with the Motherland, and he does not consider any of his actions to be treason to it: "My homeland is always with me."
However, Popov cannot imagine a scenario in which he would return to Krasnoyarsk for permanent residence.
"Even though I haven't burned any bridges or broken off any relationships. I have children here, and they won't go—that's their choice, not mine. My wife won't go either. I'm trying to find my place here. I don't know what I'll be saying in a year, but for now I'm hopeful and confident."
