International reporting
Serbia: Since the war in Ukraine, the Russian diaspora in Belgrade has grown
Audio 02:38
The new community of Russians in Belgrade is beginning to find its bearings.
© AP/Darko Vojinovic
By: Laurent Rouy
3 mins
Since Serbia is the last country in Europe accessible by air from Russia, the Russian community has grown strongly in Belgrade.
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From our correspondent in Belgrade,
Since the start of the war in Ukraine, the number of Russians in Serbia has increased sharply.
How many are these somewhat special visitors?
Hard to say, but their presence is evident in town.
Most of them flew in a hurry to escape the increasingly authoritarian regime of Vladimir Putin.
This is the case of Marina, 41, a former employee of a travel agency in Moscow.
“
Everything was going from bad to worse and I wanted to emigrate.
The war was the trigger.
Now I'm trying to find a job and I live in a hostel
,” says Marina.
Before leaving, Marina invested her savings in cryptocurrencies, as it was impossible to transfer funds to Serbia.
But she doesn't know how to sell them.
She must also settle her administrative situation.
“
Russians have the right to stay in Serbia for 30 days
,” she explains.
“
Then they have to cross the border and come back, and they are again entitled to 30 days.
You can avoid going back and forth to the border with a residence permit, but you have to fulfill specific conditions which do not correspond to my case for the moment
.
»
Help from the diaspora already settled in Belgrade
The new community of Russians in Belgrade is beginning to find its bearings.
The long-established diaspora helps them.
They have created self-help groups on social media, including a Facebook page for helping refugees, hosted by Milos Mijatovic, an activist from Belgrade.
We bring together people from the diasporas of Ukraine, Russia and Belarus.
People can learn about their rights.
If someone left Russia because of Vladimir Putin's regime, we give them information about registering with the authorities, where they can stay, how to get help.
Not everyone who left Moscow did so to flee the regime.
Svetlana, 28, is certainly opposed to the war, but she is on an exploratory mission for her IT company.
“
It's a business decision.
Our company works with clients from Western countries and the company took the risk that these clients would no longer want to work with Russia.
That's why my manager suggested I leave the country
,” says Svetlana.
A springboard to other Western countries
Svetlana, like all newcomers to Belgrade, finds herself dealing with material contingencies.
“
I had booked an apartment for a few days, but when I arrived in Belgrade I understood that I was probably going to stay for a long time
,” she says.
“
That's why I started looking for a new apartment, but there was a lot of demand (because of the Russians) and the prices went up a lot
.
»
She finally found an apartment and plans to stay in Serbia for a year.
This is the exception.
Many Russians hope to use their time in Belgrade as a springboard to other Western countries.
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