Belgrade, 29 March 2024 – Since the beginning of war in Ukraine In the February 2022 there were more than 220 thousand Russians who moved to Serbia, particularly in the capital Belgrade and Novi Sadthe country’s second city and capital of the rich northern region of Vojvodina.
Russian citizens in Belgrade
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This is reported by the latest issue of the weekly Nin, according to which to date Russian immigrants have founded more than 2,200 new businesses, active especially in IT and high technology sectors, which are almost half of the total. However, there are also many new ones restaurants, beauty salons, travel agencies and other forms of activities undertaken by Russians who have arrived in the country, often entire families with ample economic resources and available to purchase properties and rent large apartments even at high prices. This resulted in a sensitive increase in costs both on the real estate market and on the rental market, resulting in complaints from the local population.
Russians in Belgrade have now become normal, with the Russian has become the second language, more than English which is spoken by a large segment of the population. Advertising inserts, menus in restaurants, tourist adverts are conveyed not only in Serbian but also in Russian. And they are increasingly numerous concerts and performances by Russian artists and musicians in rooms and outdoor spaces.
On the occasion of presidential elections in Russia, they were in Belgrade 4,726 Russian voters who voted at the only polling station set up in Serbia. According to Nin, 10.8% of them voted for Vladimir Putin, while the other candidate was the most voted Vladislav Davankov, representative of the Russian Democratic Society.
Serbia, linked by historical friendship to Russia and main Moscow’s ally in the Balkansis the only European country, with Belarus, not to have joined the international sanctions against the Russian Federation, invoking its own national interests, primarily support for Kosovo and energy supplies at favorable prices. And Belgrade is the only European capital to have retained direct and regular flights to Moscow and St. Petersburgwithout any visa requirement.
