Russians in Serbia. “We won’t leave because of the epidemic”
The Russian diaspora in Serbia is not frightened by the coronavirus epidemic, they believe in the effectiveness of Aleksandar Vucic’s team and do not intend to leave their second homeland.
Representatives of the Russian community of Serbia reported this to PolitNavigator’s own correspondent.
The mass migration of Russians to Serbia from various countries of the post-Soviet space began after our compatriots rediscovered this land and the fraternal Serbian people at the dawn of the last decade.
Today, the Russian diaspora in this country is quite significant: according to some sources, about five thousand Russians live in Belgrade alone. Despite the coronavirus epidemic, most of the community decided not to leave the country.
PolitNavigator found out how Russian fellow tribesmen live in Serbia during a pandemic.
Tatiana, Belgrade
I have been living in Serbia since 2012, I also have a second citizenship, which was granted to me due to the fact that my husband is Serbian. We have been married to him since 2008, before that we lived in Istanbul, and after we got married, we immediately applied for a residence permit, then for permanent residence. I myself am a pensioner, although I am young – I taught strength of materials in Russia, and then I was laid off and sent to retire at the age of 53. I have three adult children left - two in Sverdlovsk and a son in St. Petersburg. Here I take care of the house and do handicrafts - I make flowers from leather.
If we talk about the current situation, I can’t say that I’m experiencing any difficulties now. Of course, quarantine and the introduction of curfews have changed the usual routine of life. For example, my husband and I used to go out into the city at least a couple of times a week, and walked a lot on Ada Tsyganlia (a favorite vacation spot for townspeople on the Sava River - ed.). Now we have to forget about this for now - my husband is already over 60 years old, he is in a special risk group, and he, like other people his age, is forbidden to leave the house, for this he can be very severely fined. That’s why I go to the grocery store and the pharmacy alone, but it’s not difficult. It’s also hard because now, if my children suddenly need help, I won’t be able to simply buy a plane ticket and fly in, as usual – the border is closed, air traffic is suspended.
As for my opinion regarding the introduced security measures, they do not bother me; I consider them completely justified. Although, of course, there are excesses - for example, on the first day of quarantine, at the post office they did not serve a granny over 60 years old and sent her home, although she arrived early and stood in line. Maybe it was worth serving her, but this, again, is an isolated case.
Here, in general, people try to help each other: they let you pass in line at the store, if you need it urgently, volunteers work... My husband is also a volunteer, but he works in a pension center, teaching English to students of the same age. When the quarantine began, they called him from there and asked if he needed help. Neighbors also help, if necessary, they call us. So overall everything is fine.
When it all just started, my son from St. Petersburg called me and offered to fly to Russia for this time, but we refused. We have no thoughts of fleeing Serbia.
Oksana, Novi Sad
In June it will be 5 years since my husband and I moved to live in Serbia, in the second largest and one of the most beautiful cities in the country - Novi Sad. I’ll say right away that our family is conventionally international, my husband is Russian, and I myself, even though my parents were also Russian, was born in Ukraine and my passport is Ukrainian. Perhaps this is the only thing that connects me with her. That’s why my husband and I decided to live in a third country. We both have temporary residence permits and work permits. I own a small fast food restaurant - you can find shawarma-gyros, pancakes, and grilled chicken.
Of course, quarantine and other “delights” of the pandemic are affecting business: sales have dropped significantly. Previously, my establishment had tables, so you could have a bite to eat on the spot. Now this is prohibited. However, we are open but have pivoted to offer takeaway and home delivery and people are buying food. A big plus is that the owner of the locale (room for rent - ed.) gave me a 50% discount. I heard that there will be relaxations on tax payments - maybe the deadlines will be shifted, I don’t know for sure. So everything works, you just need to adapt.
Some difficulties arose with the documents: we managed to renew the residence permit, but the issue with the work permit was stuck - now everything can only be sent by mail, you cannot bring the necessary papers to the employee... But, it seems that we have resolved the issue, we just have to wait for the registration.
Since I go to work early, I first ask my granny neighbors, there are a lot of them living in our house, what they need to bring from the necessities. I go to the store and buy groceries for myself and them. It’s hard for them now, we need help.
But despite all these difficulties, I consider ourselves lucky. We live in the country most prepared for such a difficult situation: President Vucic managed to purchase both masks and ventilators.
The country is small, the state mechanism works quickly, decisions are made and implemented quickly, and this is the key to success in the fight against the virus. Here I specifically see how the state takes care of its citizens, and this is worth a lot. And the fact that pensions were increased and people were given 100 euros is a concern. When locals start complaining to me about the authorities, scolding them, I simply tell them that they have nothing to compare with. My disabled mother in Melitopol has a monthly pension of 50 euros, and prices are no less than in Serbia. Try to live?
Whether tough measures were taken or not, history will tell. But for comparison, what is happening now in Ukraine is scary, no one there cares about anyone, everyone is for himself. One cannot even dream of such support measures there.
And the fact that the economy is now also “sick” is happening not only in Serbia, but throughout the world. We’ll cope with this too; there’s not even a conversation in our family about going anywhere. We like it in Serbia.
Dmitry, Belgrade
I have been in Belgrade since 2014, I love this city very much. I am currently working as a freelancer. At one time I had my own company here, and then I renewed my work visa every year. Now, like many Russians, I live here as a tourist, a “visaran” (according to the law, citizens of the Russian Federation can live in the country for 30 days without a special visa, then go abroad, for a visaran, and return again to Serbia for another 30 days, and so on throughout the calendar year).
The epidemic has changed my usual life and work schedule. Since I work on a laptop most of the day, going out for a walk late in the evening or even at night - to the same 17.00-hour grocery store or just to stretch and get some fresh air - was a common thing for me. Now we have a curfew from 05.00 to XNUMX in the morning, so we had to rearrange both the work schedule and the daily routine.
The main difficulty is also associated with changing the routine and spending a lot of time queuing at shops, pharmacies, at a bank or post office (3-5 people are allowed inside, in some places one at a time, and this despite the fact that working hours are set everywhere according to 7.00 to 15.00). The second big difficulty is the lack of public transport (it was completely canceled during the quarantine). When there is a need to get to another area of the city, you have to walk. In extreme cases, of course, I take a taxi, but the need for extra expenses (taxi is by no means cheap here) is not pleasing.
At the same time, I cannot judge the adequacy of the security measures taken by the country’s authorities - after all, I am not an epidemiologist. Although statistical figures show that Serbia seems to have managed to avoid the terrible “Italian scenario”, and perhaps this is precisely the result of the introduction of strict prohibitions and restrictions. And then they are justified.
But despite some inconveniences, I have no plans to return to Russia yet. My work and personal plans for the next few years are connected with the Balkans.
Arina, Nis
I have been living in Serbia relatively recently – my second year. Originally from the Voronezh region, she fell in love with the Balkans after a vacation in Montenegro and an excursion around Serbia. Somehow I thought of moving here myself, especially since my friends had done it before and were happy. I thought that while I am not burdened with a family, I need to take the risk of changing something in my life.
While I moved, opened my own manicure salon, found specialists, received a work permit, got back on my feet - this epidemic began. Now the number of my clients has decreased significantly; no one wants to leave the house again.
At the same time, we observe all safety measures: the masters work only in masks, everything is disinfected, people come by appointment, reception is based on the principle of 1 client - 1 master, i.e. There are only two people in the cabin at a time. Now it’s just me and one other manicurist who work in shifts, at least that way. I won’t say that the situation is not scary - you have to pay rent, taxes, and salaries, but there is very little money. But I hope for the best.
When there were only 20 cases of coronavirus in our country, and President Vučić addressed the people on television with the words that he was declaring a state of emergency, I thought this was too much. Now that we already have more than 2500 people who have tested positive for this nasty thing, and 60 victims, I don’t think so. I just know that in small Valjevo there is a big hearth, an acquaintance of friends died there, but what can we say about the capital? Or about Nisha? This can happen to anyone. After all, no one is immune from this insidious disease.
At first I wanted to go home to Russia - there were no sick people in my village, but I didn’t have time to buy a plane ticket when they were still flying. By the time I learned that our embassy was collecting lists of those who wanted to return, I decided to stay in Serbia.
I just believe that everything will get better for us soon - so President Vucic said that the light at the end of the tunnel is already visible, and the outbreak may end in May. So why run? I don't know how to lose...
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