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Russians build vibrant community in Belgrade
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More than 30,000 Russians registered as temporary residents in Serbia since February 2022
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Many Russians have a hard time integrating and prefer to maintain their cultural identity
Aleksandar Vasovic
BELGRADE, Sept. 9 – On a sweltering summer morning in the Serbian capital, Belgrade, Russian-born professional ice skater Vadim Mors glides across an outdoor rink. Mors is 1,000 miles from his native Moscow, but he’s beginning to feel like he’s at home. He fled Russia with his fiancée in 2022, part of a wave of tens of thousands of people who came to Serbia after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. It’s a long journey to get there, but many chose Belgrade because of the ancient cultural and religious ties to Moscow. “I help my Serbian colleagues … training their students,” Mors, 27, said. Since the war in Ukraine began in February 2022, Russians fleeing conflict, conscription or President Vladimir Putin’s politics have built a vibrant community in Serbia, interviews with two dozen migrants and local officials reveal.
While the actual number of Russians in Serbia is smaller than the number who have fled to countries such as Germany, their presence is strongly felt in Belgrade, a city of fewer than 2 million people.
Russian-owned clubs, kindergartens and clinics are popping up; Russians buy food from Russian stores; Russian bands, singers and comedians perform in Russian clubs; Russian artists show their work in Russian-owned galleries.
According to the latest data from the Interior Ministry, more than 30,000 Russians registered temporary residence in Serbia between February 2022 and mid-2023. Officials did not provide data for an earlier comparative period but said the numbers were growing sharply.
During this influx, Russians established 11,081 businesses in a variety of sectors, from internet-based services to hospitality and sports schools, according to Serbia’s business register.
Russian Customers
Viktor, 42, a veterinarian from St. Petersburg, fled Russian mobilization in the fall of 2022. Lacking the necessary qualifications to practice in Serbia, he works as a handyman in Belgrade, catering exclusively to Russians.
“I repair plumbing, electrical and windows and I also make furniture. I don’t particularly need Serbian customers,” said Viktor, who asked not to be named because he fears for the safety of his family in Russia.
Relations between Serbia and Russia date back centuries and remain cordial, although Serbia is also seeking to join the European Union, which condemns Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
After World War I, thousands of so-called White Russians fled the Communists during the civil war and emigrated to the newly formed Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. Still, many have struggled to integrate, preferring to hang on to their little piece of Russia inside Serbia. Ironically, many Serbs support Putin and disagree with those who fled.
“The call of Russian culture is so strong that first-generation Russian immigrants don’t even want to adapt to the society they find themselves in, whether it’s Serbian or Western,” said Aleksandar Djokic, a Belgrade-based political scientist.
Ice skater Mors was reluctant to elaborate on his reasons for leaving Russia, but his fiancée, Alexandra Mashkanova, chimed in.
“We left for ideological reasons. A few days after February 24, we tried to understand what was happening and decided to leave,” she said.
This article has been generated from an automated news agency feed without any modifications to the text.