After the invasion of Russian troops into Ukraine, tens of thousands of Russians found refuge in Serbia. “They moved because Spotify and Netflix no longer work in Russia,” criticizes a Russian activist from Belgrade, writes Deutsche Welle.

The social center “Krov” is located in an attic apartment in the center of Belgrade. The paneling of the main room is reminiscent of the basements where the Germans in Germany held parties in the 70s.

Usually, activists of cultural initiatives from the capital of Serbia meet in the “Krov” center. Now about 30 women and men are sitting on chairs in front of the improvised stage. It is spoken in Russian. Whoever wants, gets a microphone and can sing.

“I came here from Moscow in April with a one-way ticket for me, my employees and my cat,” says Ilya Pinsker, organizer of the “Open Mic” meeting.

Together with several actors, Ilya runs a recording studio. “Since the invasion of Ukraine on February 24, the situation in Russia has become more and more difficult. We had to leave.”

After the attack on Ukraine, Ilya and his friends supported Ukrainians in Telegram and other messengers.

“For example, in the chat, one of us taught a girl to drive a car so that she could take her family out of the war zone. The girl’s mother had a panic attack and was unable to get behind the wheel.” In Putin’s Russia, such initiatives are considered treason, and traitors face years in prison.

“This conflict is very close to me. Many of my colleagues and friends are from Ukraine, and some even have Ukrainian citizenship. Their relatives live there. It was necessary to somehow help these people.” says Ilya. After a few weeks, he realized that such activities in Russia are too risky.

“The fear that one day someone will knock on our door grew more and more. After the unilateral annexation of the Crimean peninsula in 2014, the Kremlin regime became more aggressive. And now, when Putin is at war, it will be even worse.”

More than a thousand new companies with Russian owners

Why Serbia? The regime in Belgrade condemned Moscow’s military intervention, but does not support the sanctions imposed against Russia. A significant part of the population of Serbia feels a cultural and religious connection with Russia.

Not only the extreme right in the Western Balkans, but also many Serbs openly support Putin’s war.

An estimated 30,000 to 50,000 Russians have moved to Serbia since the end of February. There are no official data, but one thing is known for sure: since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, tens of thousands of Russians have opened accounts in Serbia.

Citizens of the Federation have opened more than a thousand new companies, most of them in the field of IT, reports the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia.

Visa-free access

“I chose Serbia because it is one of the few countries where a visa is not required,” explains Katya Hazina. “Also, it’s a bit crazy that I, as an opponent of Putin’s policies, found myself in a country where there are many supporters of the Kremlin regime.

But I endure all this because I know that it is nothing compared to the difficulties experienced by people fleeing the war in Ukraine.”

Katya worked in Russia in a feminist publishing house. For years, he participated in demonstrations against the Putin regime. In Belgrade, she joined the public organization “Women in Black”.

In the 1990s, the organization protested against the war in Yugoslavia. Since the end of February, he has been doing this against the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

For their part, Serbian sympathizers of President Putin often demonstrate in support of the war started by Moscow and for the victory of Russia.

Delight in ignorance

“The relations between the Serbs and Russia are strange,” says Katya. Few Serbs learn Russian and almost none have ever been to Russia. “Serbs don’t know the prejudices many Russians have about them, for example, that they see them as very slow workers who live at a very low standard.”

The love of many Serbs for Russia stems from “ignorance of life in the Federation – not to mention the scale of repression, the brutality that the Putin regime is carrying out in Ukraine, as well as against its own citizens. They don’t even realize how much this is mass propaganda,” the young activist explains. (Full on Deutsche Welle)