Residents of Russia sent money to accounts in Central Asian and the Caucasus at the greatest rate in more than a decade as hundreds of thousands of people fled the country following its invasion of Ukraine, the RBC news agency reported.
Residents of Russia last year transfered $2 billion to Georgia, the largest since 2012, and more than $2.5 billion to Kyrgyzstan, the biggest since 2005, RBC reported. More than $3 billion was transferred to Armenia.
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Uzbekistan received $14.5 billion, more the double the total for 2021, while Kazakhstan received $775 million.
Russians fled their country in a first wave after President Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine in February, triggering Western financial and trade sanctions that made it difficult for many citizens to work and conduct transactions.
Russians relocated en masse to Georgia and Armenia in the Caucasus, as well as Central Asia, where they could access dollar bank accounts and Western technology.
Hundreds of thousands more Russians fled to those nations after Putin announced in September the mobilization of up to 300,000 men for the war in Ukraine.
The number of Russians traveling to the Caucuses and Central Asia reached a five-year high last year, RBC reported.
Migrants may have also contributed to the jump in cash transfers in 2022.
Millions of migrants from Central Asia and the Caucasus work in Russia and regularly send money to their families back home.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the subsequent Western economic sanctions have triggered a recession in Russia. As a result, many migrants have lost their jobs, forcing them to return home and repatriate their money.
More migrants could lose their jobs in 2023 as Russia’s economy contracts for a second straight year amid the weight of the war.