Concern is growing among Georgians over reports that thousands of Russian citizens are considering relocating to Georgia as Russia faces heavy international sanctions over its attack on Ukraine.
Alarm was raised on social media after numerous users claimed that numerous Russian citizens were discussing their plans to move to Georgia on Telegram or otherwise inquiring about real estate and business opportunities in the country.
Some real estate agents also confirmed the growing interest. Levan Kiladze, the co-founder of Ss.ge, a major Georgian real estate platform, told Publika media about the rapidly growing engagement on their site from Russia.
Otar Kachkachishvili, chairman of the Georgian National Real Estate Association, which unites Georgian real estate companies, similarly spoke about the increasing requests from citizens of Russia and Belarus.
Petitions to introduce the visa regime for Russians
Some are calling for a distinction to be drawn between regime refugees and other visitors, and are opposed to making it easy for supporters of the Kremlin’s aggressive policies to seek solace in Georgia as Russia’s economy suffers.
At least three separate online petitions have been launched urging the government to introduce visa requirements for Russian citizens, who can currently travel to Georgia visa-free. Georgians, on the other hand, have required visas to enter Russia for over two decades.
“We demand the introduction of specific regulations based on which only politically persecuted citizens of Russia may be allowed to enter Georgia,” says the online petition, which has already collected up to 10,000 signatures. The petitioners also called for time restrictions to be imposed on Russians wishing to stay in Georgia.
Those concerned cite Kremlin practices to abuse the issue of Russian nationals to justify invading neighboring nations. Other concerns include economic implications, such as fears that increased demand will make property unaffordable for locals, or that Russian citizens will withdraw US dollars from ATMs, damaging the national currency.
Former Defense Minister Tina Khidasheli warned that anger was escalating into xenophobia, saying reports of Russians leaving their country, if true, could have two reasons – “fleeing the dictator and expecting repression” or ” Escape from Sanction Complaints”.
According to Khidasheli, there are visa regimes to filter the applicants. “Those fleeing sanctions while keeping Putin’s pictures on their Facebook pages should not be allowed into Georgia.”
“A sharp increase in the number of visitors from Russia can throw the situation out of control and seriously endanger the security of our country,” the opposition party Lelo for Georgia reacted.
The party called on Georgian authorities to release statistics on visitors from Russia over the past week and suggested introducing a “temporary visa regime with countries currently engaged in military aggression against the Ukrainian state.”
Ruling party denies reports
Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili denied any “mass influx” of Russian citizens and claimed that the land border between the two countries had been closed by Russia to individual travellers. “This is also part of a disinformation campaign to scare the public,” the chairman noted.
Importantly, Russia has too forbidden Flights to Georgia in 2019 due to anti-occupation protests in Tbilisi, but Russian citizens can still enter Georgia from other countries.
Irakli Kobachidze, leader of the ruling Georgian Dream party, accused the opposition party United National Movement of launching a “campaign to introduce discriminatory restrictions on Russian nationals”.
Kobakhidze warned of the discriminatory treatment of Russian nationals by private companies and called on law enforcement agencies to take all measures to deter attempts at “physical confrontation or breeding ethnic feuds”.
On the other hand, the DG head promised the government to “address comprehensively all potential risks” associated with a mass influx of foreigners.
“Georgia is open to every individual, every citizen of any country, regardless of ethnicity, and has a responsibility to ensure non-discriminatory treatment towards them and to protect their security,” MP Kobachidze said.
According to the National Statistics Office, Georgia hosted about 100,000 tourists from Russia per month on average in 2018-2019, the largest share compared to other foreigners before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
After a drastic decline since 2020, numbers started rising again last year, with about 20,000 Russian tourists visiting Georgia monthly in the last quarter of 2021. In 2021, 54 Russian nationals applied for asylum in Georgia.
