Russians beat 5-year record for departing to Central Asia, Armenia, and Mongolia

Russia-neighbouring countries and CIS member states that do not share a border with Russia (excluding Belarus and Moldova) faced a massive influx of Russian nationals last year: the number of people departed to those reached 8.4 million, growing by 130%.

The third quarter of the year when mobilisation was declared saw most people leaving Russia. A total of 3.5 million people departed Russia to those countries between July and September, followed by 2.1 million between October and December.

The influx of Russians was record high in five years in Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Mongolia.

The number of times Russian nationals departed to Israel doubled last year, growing to over 100,000.

This growth does not mean millions of Russians left the country permanently. Some of them often return, and some might have crossed the border multiple times. However, populationists Yulia Florinskaya and Alexey Raksha estimated last year’s emigration wave to stand between 400,000 and 800,000 people.

Over 100,000 opted to stay in Georgia, and at least 100,000 more in Kazakhstan. A total of 50,000–100,000 people left for Serbia, and around 40,000 for Armenia. Israel, Kyrgyzstan, and the EU welcomed around 35,000 Russians each, they say.

Last year also saw massive growth in Russians leaving for Asia: Thailand, Sri-Lanka, and India. The record number of travels, even compared to pre-COVID years, was to the UAE.

The FSB also recorded 1.1 million departures to the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk “People’s republics” in Q2 and Q3 of 2022. It is also reported that 470,000 Russians entered Ukraine last year.