Russians Find Refuge From Putin in Europe’s New ‘Casablanca’
Belgrade turned into a haven after the war started, but now more people are arriving and driving demand for property and work spaces.
More than 100,000 Russians have arrived in Serbia since Putin's invasion of Ukraine.
Photographer: Hakan Burak Altunoz/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
Sitting behind an outsized black wooden desk next to stacks of papers, Belgrade lawyer Tijana Vujovic says she already has another five meetings with potential new clients in her diary for the next day. Four of them are Russian.
The 36-year-old specializes in immigration, getting people the right paperwork and hooking them up with real estate agents in a city that’s quietly turned into a welcoming haven for thousands of Russians since President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine eight months ago. The new arrivals have flocked to communal work spaces, registered more than 2,000 businesses and even given a boost to the property market. More are now looking to settle for the longer term in the wake of Putin’s military mobilization of citizens in September.