Since Start of Putin’s War, Russians have Radically Increased Property Purchases in Countries to Which They can Most Easily Move

Paul Goble

            Staunton, May 8 – Since the start of Putin’s war in Ukraine, many Russians have chosen to emigrate, but more have purchased property in countries to which they can most easily move, such as Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, even if those haven’t been the most popular places abroad for Russians to live.

            Not only are these purchases an indication that a large swath of Russians want a bolthole to make use of if conditions under Putin grow even worse, but it is a sign that the number of them who will leave Russia in the coming months, if the war continues, will only increase (forum-msk.org/material/news/17858174.html).

            The Kremlin is seeking to block this by issuing decrees limiting the purchase of property abroad, but to date, that effort has not been successful. More successful have been limits imposed on Russians by other countries, and there is a chance that the EU will impose a complete ban on such purchases.

            That won’t stop this trend in its tracks, Forum-MSK suggests. Instead, it will mean that Russians will likely continue to try to put their money in places where they can most easily obtain residence permits, however unattractive these places may be in comparison with Western ones.