Serbia hosts a large Russian population having fled the Putin regime or mobilization in the Russian army for the war in Ukraine. It is trying to expel at least three Russian nationals from its territory, without giving a reason. They face many problems in their daily life. RFI met Evgueny Irzhansky, one of them.
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With our correspondent in Belgrade, Laurent Rouy
Evgeny Irzhansky arrived in Serbia in April 2022. He had no difficulty obtaining a residence permit, just like the thousands of Russians who arrived in this country at the same time. At the end of 2022, Evgueny begins organizing concerts in Belgrade. The rock groups he invites greatly appeal to the anti-Putin exiles.
“ Russian musicians are against the war, against Putin. And I think that was a problem for the FSB, whose head, Patrushev, is friends with the head of the Serbian secret service », he notes.
Accusation of Ukrainian nationalism
Evgeny is then accused of being a Ukrainian nationalist on social networks. Venues receive threats and cancel concerts at the last minute. At the end of August, Evgueny was summoned to the foreigners’ police: “ They asked me for my passport, and ten minutes later an officer came and canceled my residence permit with a big stamp. He then wrote that I had to leave Serbia before September 4th. »
Since then, Evgueny, who refuses to leave Serbia, and two other anti-Putin activists, also threatened with expulsion, have filed a complaint against the Serbian police. A pot funded by the Russian community in Belgrade covers their legal fees. None know when the court will rule on their case.
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