There is more than just one Russian world.
This week, the prominent Russian sociologist and dissident Igor Eidman, who resides in Germany, started a Facebook group aimed at countering Kremlin propaganda in that country.
"We are the Russian speakers of Germany," he wrote in the post announcing the group. "And we are outraged that the Putin regime is attempting to speak in our name."
And Eidman isn't the only Russian living abroad who is representative of the Other Russian World.
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In Riga, Anton Lysenkov, a former journalist for Lenta.ru, has started a smart online magazine called Spektr that is dedicated to countering the narratives on Russian state television and providing Russian speakers in the Baltics with honest and high-quality reporting, analysis, and commentary in their native language.
Galina Timchenko and her team at the Riga-based Meduza news site are likewise performing a similar service.
And then there is State Duma Deputy Ilya Ponomaryov, the only Russian lawmaker to vote against the annexation of Crimea.
He now resides in Kyiv, where he not only pushes back against Russian propaganda but has also become a constructive voice on Ukrainian politics as well.
The list can go on. As Russia's best and brightest minds emigrate in increasing numbers, they are often making their new homes in places like the Baltics and Ukraine.
They're speaking out against Vladimir Putin's regime, making constructive contributions to their new homes, and demonstrating that Russians abroad are not a monolithic pro-Kremlin bloc.
And as this trend continues, the term "Russky mir" is taking on a whole new -- and much less menacing -- meaning.
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