Eurostat data show 876,600 Russian nationals held valid EU residence permits at the end of 2025, with Germany, Spain and Estonia hosting the largest communities.
asserted
Germany → show → communities
The number of Russian citizens legally residing in the EU has grown by 105,000 since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in early 2022, reaching 876,600 by the end of 2025, an analysis of Eurostat data shows.
asserted
analysis → reside → data
The figure represents a 13.6% rise from the 771,800 Russians holding valid temporary or permanent residence permits across EU member states in 2021.
asserted
figure → represent → 2021
Germany hosts the largest community, with 218,000 residents, followed by Spain (116,800) and Estonia (78,400).
asserted
Germany → host → Spain
Southern Europe has seen the sharpest growth: Spain issued residence permits to 44,400 Russian nationals over the period, France 13,700, while Cyprus and Portugal saw their Russian-born populations increase 2.5 and 3.5 times, respectively.
asserted
populations → see → period
Several EU states have moved in the opposite direction.
asserted
states → move → direction
Latvia, Estonia and the Czech Republic have recorded the largest drops in Russian residents, driven by tough migration policies and, in the Baltic states, security concerns over large Russian-speaking communities.
asserted
Latvia → record → communities
Significant communities have also formed outside the EU.
asserted
communities → form → EU
In Serbia the Russian population rose from roughly 5,000 before the invasion to 61,900 by the end of 2025.
asserted
population → rise → 2025
By spring of this year, Kazakhstan had absorbed more than 107,000 Russian migrants, while Armenia and Georgia hosted 43,500 and 70,000, respectively.
asserted
Armenia → absorb → 43,500
Turkey drew large numbers in the immediate post-invasion period but later tightened residency rules.
asserted
Turkey → draw → rules
By June, valid Russian permits there had fallen to 75,900, half the 2023 peak.
asserted
permits → fall → 75,900
Researchers tracking emigration patterns have identified at least four distinct waves since February 2022.
asserted
Researchers → track → February
The most recent, running from this spring, has been sparked by renewed claims of impending mobilisation for Moscow's all-out war in Ukraine.
uncertain
recent → run → Ukraine
"Everyone now understands that they have no future in Russia.
asserted
they → understand → Russia
There is no image of the future, no understanding of what will happen in six months or a year," said Anastasia Burakova, a lawyer and founder of Kovcheg, a legal assistance project for Russians abroad.
asserted
Burakova → be → Russians
"What is more, there are risks linked to mobilisation and conscription, which people feel very personally.
asserted
people → be → which
"
'Now I have nothing and I feel free'
asserted
I → feel → nothing
Ivan, 19, left Russia this spring to avoid conscription and now works in construction in Yerevan, posting videos on YouTube.
asserted
Ivan → leave → YouTube
"I thought: this is it, this is life, everything is going the way it should," he said in a YouTube video.
asserted
he → think → video
"Now I'm sitting on a bench in Yerevan, with no title and no steady job.
asserted
I → sit → title
Back then I was a manager and felt trapped.
asserted
I → feel → ?
Now I have nothing, and I feel free.
asserted
I → have → nothing
Surveys by independent researchers show the Russian emigrees include predominantly young couples, often without children, with both partners under 36.
asserted
emigrees → show → 36
They tend to have high levels of education and are concentrated in professions either vulnerable to political repression — journalists, human rights workers, political analysts — or in high international demand, particularly IT, engineering and academia.
asserted
They → tend → demand
Around 20% of those who left do not hold university degrees.
asserted
who → leave → degrees
Some 18% are studying or plan to study abroad.
asserted
% → study → ?
They fall into three broad groups: those who have settled and expect to remain abroad long-term, those who have already moved once and are preparing to relocate again, and those still in Russia who intend to leave within six months.
asserted
who → fall → months
In Armenia and Georgia, the sudden influx of people and capital contributed to GDP growth of between 9% and 9.4% at its peak between 2022 and 2024, according to analysis published by the CASE Center research institute.
uncertain
influx → contribute → institute
Average Russian household incomes in Serbia ran to around €3,500 per month against a local average of €900.
asserted
incomes → run → 900
The effect has since moderated as host economies adapted, with growth settling back to 5–7% annually.
asserted
growth → moderate → %
Rather than competing for local jobs, most Russian migrants have worked remotely or set up their own businesses.
In IT, up to 41% have maintained income from foreign clients, while in the media sector around 21% have done so, channelling money into host economies through taxes and everyday spending.
asserted
% → compete → taxes
Meanwhile, Russian authorities and independent researchers have documented some returns, but the scale remains disputed.
asserted
scale → document → returns
The independent OutRush sociological project estimated that no more than 8% of emigrants had returned to Russia by summer 2024, with around 5% more intending to do so.
asserted
% → estimate → summer
The Institute of Applied Economic Research at RANEPA, a state-linked academic institution, put the overall return rate from the 2022–2023 wave at roughly 10%.
asserted
Institute → link → %
Estimates from consulting firms and recruitment agencies are considerably higher, ranging from 16% among IT workers to 40–45% of those who left at the peak.
asserted
who → range → peak
Commonly cited reasons for returning include difficulty finding work, legal status problems and the closure of relocated Russian businesses.
asserted
reasons → cite → businesses
Russia's own official resettlement programme recorded a historic low in 2025, drawing only 26,700 people into the country.
asserted
programme → record → country
Euronews could not independently verify Russian government data.
uncertain
Euronews → verify → data
The Aporia
