Russian Roulette: Google search on “How to break arm at home” peaks, here’s why

Shortly after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that he will deploy citizens to fight Ukraine on Wednesday, long queues were witnessed at border with citizens flocking the borders to flee the country, which is finding huge manpower shortage to continue the Ukrainian war.

In an address, President Putin and military officials said 300,000 reservists would immediately be conscripted to fight in the unprovoked invasion after the warring country had lost significant ground in Ukraine amid recent counterattacks, said the report.

Putin on Wednesday ordered Russia’s first mobilisation since World War Two and warned the West he was not bluffing when he said he’d be ready to use nuclear weapons to defend Russia. He gave the citizens just four hours to pack their bags and say goodbyes to their families, said a report in Metro.

How to break an arm at home?

Soon after Putin’s announcement, the Google Search is inundated with the search string “how to break an arm at home”. It became the top search in Russia as Google Trends data showed a dramatic rise in the search term from 0 to 38 on a scale of 100, within 24 hours after the announcement.

On the other hand, the plane tickets out of Russia peaked $5,000 for one-way to neighbouring countries. Tens of thousands of Russians sought to flee the country, with five-hour long queues at the borders to Finland, Georgia, and Mongolia. Those who were lucky got the flight, but many others were blocked from departing despite a valid tickets or visa.

Social media groups started a variety of ideas and advice on how to get out of Russia while one news site in Russian gave a list of “where to run away right now from Russia.” But breaking the arm remains the best option for many who could not afford the above.

They are now searching for “how to break an arm at home” so they can be exempted from participating in the war, if aged between 18 and 65.

However, some Russian nationalists are adamant and have renewed calls for some kind of mobilisation to send more troops into the war campaign.