‘Parents did not press panic button’

Members of the Wagner Group military company. Pic/AP

As news analysts and experts continue decoding the Wagner group's aborted mutiny - if one could call it that - in Russia and a challenge to President Vladimir Putin, many Indian parents of children studying in Russia are slightly relieved after some heart-leapt-in-the-mouth moments. Having said that, I must add that the reaction by parents was exceptionally mature and measured compared to the hysteria whipped up by some news outlets.

Airport anguish

The main concern was parents asking if their children would be able to travel to Moscow airport to catch flights back to India. A lot of medicos in Russia return to India for a two-month break during this time. The next academic year begins in September. There are also several Indian parents who go to Russia, for their children's convocation (graduation) ceremonies post the six- year medical course. Usually, after the ceremony, we see parents and their children doing some sightseeing in Russia, before returning to India. There are tourists in Russia during this summertime, out to witness ‘White Nights' in places like St Petersburg, which sees almost 24 hours of sunlight and that is how it has gained the epithet ‘white night tourism'. This shows there is an uptick in travel between India and Russia at this time. On the day of the Wagner uprising, I got one just one phone call from the parent of an Indian student, who expressed concern about her daughter's passage to the Moscow airport to catch the flight back to India.

Proactive stance

The one call does not mean there was no worry or ignorance of the insurrection. It is because many parents were communicating with their children, most of them not in Moscow but studying in universities in student towns a little away from Moscow. Today, WhatsApp, video calls, etc. mean channels of communication are much more accessible and zippier than before. What is most important is that there is an International Students Department which has students that are in touch with the Indian Embassy in Russia. The latter disseminates clear, concise information which is relayed to the International Students Centre, which acts as a bridge relaying official information to students studying there. The Embassy is extremely quick, clear, concise and proactive. Even for instance, when very heavy snowfall is expected, the Embassy will issue a heads up on its social media handles so that students are aware of the forecast. That is the level of alertness and response by the Embassy.

A guide

I have to also commend the parents who did not panic seeing the screaming news channels. They awaited communication, so that shows patience borne out of belief in the message flow and credibility. On the day of the abortive uprising, we were waiting to see if the Embassy issues any special advisory for Indian students but there was none. In the end, the crisis seems to have defused as of now. We may not have seen the end of a rebellion or, we may have. I am not an expert and cannot comment on that, or what will happen next. There are a plethora of reports analyzing the recent events and upheaval. All I can say is that impressively agile, on-the-ball communication is proving to be an effective and trustworthy guide for Indian youngsters in Russia in these times tinged with uncertainty.

As told to Hemal Ashar

The columnist is founder-director EDURUSSIA (Admissions Department Russian Government Universities)