A recent article from The Economist details the near-total collapse of Russian tourism to Europe since the invasion of Ukraine. Where over half a million Schengen visas were issued to Russians in 2014, that number had fallen by 90% by 2023 and is now even lower due to flight bans and border closures.

The piece highlights the intense political and moral debate behind this trend. Some European leaders argue it is a “moral outrage” for Russian citizens to enjoy European leisure while their country wages war, suggesting they share responsibility for their government. The EU has also moved to stop recognizing passports issued in occupied territories. However, the article notes this approach is “alarming” to some, as it risks punishing dissidents and those who abhor the regime, effectively treating all 144 million citizens as a single entity.

Our Take

The trend toward assigning collective responsibility, rather than focusing on individual conduct, is deeply concerning from a rule of law perspective. As the writer Umberto Eco once argued, holding all citizens responsible for the faults of their government is a form of racism.

This is the kind of “majority overreach” The 451 Institute warns against. Our mission is to protect fundamental freedoms from political manipulation and ensure collective decisions pass a test of legitimacy, especially when they impact individuals’ rights. While the outrage over the war is valid, policies that assign guilt by nationality fail this test. They substitute a political objective for the core democratic principle of individual assessment. When we sacrifice fundamental standards of fairness, even for a cause we believe is just, we risk damaging the very institutions we claim to be protecting