How many Russians fled to Serbia?

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - Since the beginning of Russia's aggression against Ukraine, hundreds of thousands of Russians have left their homeland fearing mobilization or international isolation of the country.

A large number of Russians decided to come to neighboring Serbia, but the exact number still remains a secret. Russian authorities constantly minimize the number of those who left the country.

Serbian portal Direktno writes that a document has appeared in public stating that almost 170,000 Russians, Ukrainians and Belarusians have registered their residence in the territory of Serbia.

In the document of the Ministry of Interior, whose authenticity they could not verify, it is stated that the largest number of Russian citizens registered their residence in Serbia.

"In the period from February 24 to November 2, 2022, 140,141 citizens of the Russian Federation, 22,709 citizens of Ukraine and 5,501 citizens of Belarus were registered, who, in accordance with the Law on Foreigners, registered their residence in the territory of the Republic of Serbia," it is stated among other things.

The document does not state how many of the mentioned people settled in the capital of Serbia, given that Belgrade alone has a separate Administration for Foreigners as a special organizational unit. 

Portal Direktno concludes that the mentioned number of Russians in Serbia is "incredible, because if the given figures are correct, the number of Russians, Ukrainians and Belarusians in Serbia is larger than the population of the fourth largest Serbian city - Kragujevac, which has about 150,000 inhabitants."

The increased number of Russians was also felt on the real estate market in Belgrade, Novi Sad and other cities in Serbia. Media have been reporting for months about a large increase in apartment prices and rents.