TEL AVIV — Some of Russia's biggest artistic talents have immigrated to Israel this year, finding a safe place to rebuild their careers and voice their conscience about their country's war in Ukraine.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February, it has cracked down on even the slightest opposition to the war, forced thousands of citizens to enlist to fight and drawn tough sanctions from the West. All this has prompted many Russians to flee.
More than 28,000 Russian nationals have acquired Israeli citizenship since the war began, according to Israeli government figures. Many of these are top talents in different areas of Russia life.
Israel defines itself as a refuge for Jews, which is why it's already home to 1 million Russian-speakers who fled the crumbling Soviet Union in the 1990s.
Source: - Twitter