These Russians are fleeing to the U.S. — by walking from Mexico

A man wipes away a joyful tear as he takes his first steps into an unfamiliar place, an émigré from the land of Dostoyevsky entering cactus-dotted cowboy country.

He's part of a striking new phenomenon: Russians are increasingly fleeing their homeland through Mexico and walking into the United States.

Rushan Burkhanov trembles with relief as he treads on American soil just after daybreak, under a purple-pink palette dissolving in the endless desert dawn.

CBC News saw about a dozen Russians in one morning when visiting a patch of land where Arizona, California and Mexico converge.

Several families crossed a dried-out riverbed and were waiting, outside Yuma, Ariz., for U.S. border agents to collect them, so they could file asylum claims.

Some spoke about their journey — about why they left Russia, why they transited through Mexico, and what they plan next.

Burkhanov used to fix and sell used cars in a historic port city along the Volga River and said he was shaken by what he'd learned about the war in Ukraine.

The television news back home made it sound like President Vladimir Putin's intention in invading was to protect people, to save lives.

"In reality, it was an attack on a neighbouring country," he said. 

"They killed people, raped people, and Ukraine was never our enemy."

He said he was so disturbed that he, a practising Muslim, began speaking out at his mosque and attending protests.

But there were consequences: "I was held in custody, beaten," he said. 

Fearful of further punishment and of being drafted himself, he, his wife and their daughter made a three-week trip — first to Kazakhstan, then with flights to Dubai, Mexico City and the border town of Mexicali, and a short walk on a dirt path, across the border.

Another man waiting at the border said he'd started complaining about the new school curriculum in Russia and that's when his troubles began.