Russians Flock to Armenia Amid Ukraine War, Western Sanctions

“One of the reasons for coming here is this troubled situation,” he said. “But we had long wanted to visit Yerevan.”

The sanctions imposed by the United States and the European Union include measures aimed at restricting Russian access to high technology and complicating Russian companies’ financial transactions abroad.

“I have heard that many companies will be moving abroad in the near future, because doing business in Russia in spheres connected with import, export, finances is no longer possible,” said another arriving Russian, who chose not to disclose his identity.

Armenian Economy Minister Vahan Kerobyan claimed on March 1 that Russian tech companies are already moving operations to Armenia to evade the Western sanctions. But he did not disclose their names or give other details.

The Armenian government appears to welcome the arrival of IT engineers and other skilled workers from Russia. The Ministry of Economy set up last week a working group tasked with helping them settle in the country.

The government has not yet ascertained the total number of Russians who have entered Armenia since Moscow launched its “special military operation” in Ukraine on February 24.

“We will be able to talk about figures in about a week when things get calmer, but as of now we can say that some professionals from Russia have already got jobs in Armenia,” said Hayk Chobanyan, executive director of the Armenian Union of Advanced Technology Enterprises.

Armenia has a vibrant IT industry that has grown rapidly for nearly two decades. According to expert estimates, there were at least 2,000 vacancies in the sector before the pandemic coronavirus.

Not all of the arriving Russian nationals plan to stay in Armenia. As one of them put it, “Most likely I will stay here for a couple of months. “After that I’ll get a job in Europe.”