In Serbia, Russians opposed to Moscow’s policy arrive by the thousands

In Serbia Russians opposed to Moscows policy arrive by the

Thousands of Russians, dissidents or simply opposed to the war and the policies of Vladimir Putin have arrived in Serbia since the start of the war in Ukraine.

with our correspondent in Belgrade, Jean-Arnaud Derens

Since the beginning of the war, the prices of plane tickets have skyrocketed. You have to pay 2,000 to 3,000 euros to reach Belgrade, and most flights are sold out. The Serbian capital is indeed one of the last in Europe to have maintained flights with Serbia.

A computer scientist, Stanislav, who learned Serbian at the University of Moscow, believes he left ” just in time “. ” I am Russian, I arrived five days ago, I am thirty years old, I came with my family. I want to live here, in Serbia, because I can no longer live in Russia because of my positions. I’m afraid of the war in Ukraine, I prefer to spend this time here, in Serbia. »

The community of exiles in the process of forming can be found on Facebook, where people exchange tips on finding an apartment, a car, a doctor or medication.

Stanislav is determined to rebuild his life in Serbia. He intends to enroll his two little girls in school and is already doing the math: in seven years, he could obtain the Serbian passport. For him, any return to Russia is excluded. He even managed to sell his apartment in Moscow in extremis.

Read also: The war in Ukraine rekindles all the tensions in the Balkans

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