At a time when the European economy is taking a decisive blow from energy crisisher interest Russian invasion of Ukraine, and approaching a subsequent recession, some other countries are reaping the side effects of the war and watching their economies and currencies get an unexpected boost. It’s about neighbors. Russia as well as Ukraine countries, Agriculture, Armenia but also her Turkeywhich have become host countries for those wealthy Russians who leave their country, taking their wealth with them.

Georgia, that tiny former Soviet republic on Russia’s southern border, is one of several Caucasian countries, including Armenia and Turkey, that has enjoyed a significant economic boost thanks to at least 112,000 wealthy Russians who have settled on the land this year after invading Ukraine. Their influx has seen the Georgian currency, the lari, rise in price by 15% against the dollar since the beginning of the year, real estate sales in the capital Tbilisi by 20% until September and transactions by 30%, and rents have risen sharply, rising by 74% . From January to November, 12,093 new Russian companies were registered in the registries of Georgia, which is 13 times more than at the beginning of 2021.

As Mikhail Kukava, head of the Department of Economic and Social Policy at the Freedom of Information Institute, commented on this, Georgia unexpectedly recorded double-digit economic growth rates that no one could even dream of. This is confirmed, after all, by the estimates of the IMF, which predicts Georgia’s GDP growth this year by 10%, that is, more than three times compared to the initial April estimate of 3% growth. After all, the IMF predicts double-digit economic growth rates for Armenia, namely 11%, and 5% for Turkey.

The IMF predicts double-digit GDP growth for both Georgia and Armenia.

The former Soviet republic recorded a very large foreign exchange inflow this year, mainly from Russia, which accounted for 59.6% of foreign capital that entered the country only in October. The total inflow of foreign capital into Georgia increased by 725% year on year. From February, when the war began, to October, Russians who immigrated to Georgia transferred $1.412 billion to bank accounts. After all, by September, Russians who immigrated to Georgia had opened 45,000 bank accounts, almost twice as many as Russians in the country. before the invasion of Ukraine.

Like neighboring Armenia and Turkey, Georgia has refused to follow Western countries into imposing sanctions against Russia and instead allowed Russians and their capital to freely enter its territory. Armenia has so far avoided disclosing full data on the number of foreigners who have settled in its territory and the assets they have acquired. However, it is known that Turkey this year issued 118,626 residence permits to Russian citizens, and 1/5 of the foreigners who bought property in Turkey this year were Russians.

At the opposite end, however, is Moldova, also neighboring Russia and Ukraine, whose fate is more similar to that of the EU countries. After Moscow cut off energy flows, Moldova was forced to switch suppliers overnight and start getting 80% of its electricity and natural gas from Europe. It was the most abrupt transition in the country since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1989. On Wednesday, Moldova was left without electricity for two hours when rockets hit Ukraine, cutting off electricity flows from Europe. As for energy costs, which have more than tripled, this is a blow to the Moldovan economy, as it creates a deficit of 8% of its GDP, while it is one of the poorest countries in Europe. There, of course, there have not yet been general power outages, as happened in Ukraine. But it is estimated that the price of natural gas for ordinary consumers has increased sixfold over the past year, forcing the country’s families to spend 70% to 75% of their income on utility bills.