Over the past few months, Belgrade has been changing at a speed perhaps unprecedented in its long history, at least not since the overthrow of the dictator Slobodan Milosevic 22 years ago.

The reason for this is the war in Ukraine.

More precisely: The reason for this is the large number of people from Russia who have settled in Serbia's capital since the recent Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Michael Martens

Correspondent for Southeast European countries based in Vienna.

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They came in two waves.

The first wave reached Belgrade soon after February 24, when Russia's latest invasion of Ukraine began.

It consisted mainly of decidedly oppositional Russians who could not or did not want to reconcile their conscience with continuing to live in the country of the perpetrators.

Others came primarily for business reasons, as they did not want to lose access to markets and internationally networked banks.

Pragmatic interests and a moral aversion to the Russian regime were often combined.

They have to run their company and don't want their son to grow up in the fascist society that Putin created in Russia, says a couple who are successful in the IT sector.

Most Russians in Belgrade have no existential financial worries.

Some Serbs are now more likely to have such worries, since rent prices in Belgrade have multiplied under the influence of the many Russian immigrants, at least in middle and better locations.

The second wave of Russian immigration began after Putin announced the mobilization on September 21.

It hasn't died down yet, on the contrary.

The number of Russian citizens registered in Serbia is growing every day.

According to the Serbian Interior Ministry, more than 140,000 Russian citizens registered permanent residence in Serbia between February and October alone, most of them in Belgrade.

According to figures from the Interior Ministry, there are also almost 23,000 Ukrainians and around 5,500 Belarusians, almost all of whom speak Russian.

However, these almost 170,000 people – there are probably more by now – are not evenly distributed across the entire city with its catchment area of ​​around two million inhabitants.

They are mainly at home in the center and in the better areas.

Generous donations, but anonymous

In the Vračar district, for example, in the vicinity of the Cathedral of St. Sava, their presence cannot be ignored.

In shops, cafes, on the streets, Russian is spoken everywhere.

"Half of the customers are Russians," estimates a cashier in a supermarket on Ranke-Strasse, which could just as well be named after Lenin or Tolstoy instead of the German historian, you hear that much Russian here.

Russian has become Belgrade's second language, and Russians are the city's largest minority.

Air Serbia's continued multiple daily flights to Moscow and multiple weekly services to Saint Petersburg, Kazan and Sochi are contributing to the growth of the Russian diaspora.

It is comparatively easy to get to Serbia from Russia.

However, the flights are often fully booked well in advance.

The second wave, which began after Putin's mobilization order, is considered less political.

Among them are some Russians who are perhaps less anti-Putin than opposed to the impact of his policies on their lives.

In any case, they have no intention of giving their lives on the battlefield for Putin.

There is sometimes animosity between the emigrants of the first and second waves in Belgrade.

The politically active Russians of the first wave are bothered by the supposed opportunism of their compatriots, who are less or not at all visibly opposed.

But opportunism does not always have to be the reason for reluctance.

An organizer of the Russian diaspora reports that some Russians donate generously to anti-Putin opposition rallies, but make a point of