Around 200,000 Russians have fled to Serbia, where they face threats and violence from the nationalist right

Some 200,000 Russians to have left for Serbia since the start of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, making the Balkan country one of the main exile destinations for those fleeing the consequences of the Kremlin’s war. Unlike other parts of Europe, Russians do not need a visa to enter Serbia and have largely been welcomed in Belgrade given the historical ties between the two Orthodox Christian countries.

The new emigrants have opened cafes and galleries, registered more than 2,000 new businesses and even giving a boost to the property market.

But in a country where Putin’s regime enjoys significant support under an increasingly assertive nationalist government led by prime minister Aleksandar Vučić, many have faced harassment and expulsions over their anti-war stance.

Belgrade has long performed a delicate balancing act between its EU aspirations on the one hand and its centuries-old ethnic and religious ties with Russia.

  • AutoTL;DRBEnglish
    4•1 year ago

    This is the best summary I could come up with:

    Armed with a brush and a bucket of grey paint, the Russian anti-war activist Ilya Zernov walked through Belgrade until he reached a large mural that said “Death to Ukraine” on the side of an apartment block.

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    Zernov is one of the estimated 200,000 Russians to have left for Serbia since the start of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, making the Balkan country one of the main exile destinations for those fleeing the consequences of the Kremlin’s war.

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    But in a country where Putin’s regime enjoys significant support under an increasingly assertive nationalist government led by prime minister Aleksandar Vučić, activists like Zernov have faced harassment and expulsions.

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    “There is a graffiti battle on the streets of Belgrade,” said Pyotr Nikitin, the founder of RDS, listing other murals in the city that hail Russian troops in Ukraine and the infamous Wagner mercenary group.

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    “I thought it was extremely important to bring people together who are united by their opposition to this war,” said Yevgeny Irzhansky, a Russian citizen who has organised concerts by anti-war bands and arts events in Belgrade.

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    On a recent Sunday, about 5,000 people gathered at the MTS Dvorana arena to listen to Bi-2, a popular Belarusian-Russian rock band that stopped performing back home after its lead singer criticised the war.

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    The original article contains 1,114 words, the summary contains 237 words. Saved 79%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!