The lesson of Portugal: in the 1960s and 70s, a fifth of the inhabitants fled from the draft in the army

According to the Russian Association of Electronic Commerce, immediately after the start of Russia's special operation in Ukraine, 50-70 thousand people left our country. In the "second wave", which took place in April, another 70-100 thousand left. Now, in just a week, another 194,000 potentially subject to mobilization have left. Of these, 3,000 went to Mongolia, 43 to Finland, 53 to Georgia, and the largest number - 98,000 - to Kazakhstan. The total number of emigrants thus approaches half a million people.

The authorities of the countries to which the Russians flee are concerned about this state of affairs, fearing that this could lead to unpredictable consequences for them. For example, Finland is already going to build a border fence more than 200 kilometers long, and Kazakhstan is going to extradite fugitives who are subject to mobilization in Russia.

It is curious, but in human history there have been cases of exodus and more grandiose than the current Russian one. For example, in 1960-1970, when the last world empire, Portugal, began to fall apart. Trying to keep their African colonies in the sphere of influence, the authorities of this country also announced military mobilization. Writer Lea Lubomirskaya recalls how it ended in her blog:

“During the period of colonial wars - or rather, in the hottest years, from 1966 to 1973 - from Portugal - a country at that time with a population of 8 million two hundred and something thousand - left, left, fled and sailed away on the other side Atlantic one million seven hundred thousand people.

I repeat: ONE MILLION SEVEN HUNDRED THOUSAND people.

From a country with a population of EIGHT MILLION TWO Hundred and Over THOUSAND people.

Almost a fifth of the working population.

Of these, about half a million people - young men over the age of 18 - left illegally, by goat paths - from recruitment, from being sent to Africa.

Surprisingly, people with bright faces did not block their paths with shouts of "imperials, get out." They were neither more merciful nor indifferent. Hugs, of course, were not opened, but no one expected hugs, and a huge wave of Portuguese somehow dispersed between France, Germany, Brazil, Canada and the USA. And no one burst, not even little Luxembourg, where the fugitive Portuguese were also blown by some amazing wind, and they did not open a branch of the Portuguese empire anywhere ... "