Mass 'Exodus' Of Russians From Crimea Begins

Russian citizens are abandoning their homes and cursing their army.

Despite the reassuring statements of the occupying authorities, the 2023 tourist season in Crimea has been the most unsuccessful in the entire post-Soviet period, and sales of apartments have plummeted. Moreover, there is already an "exodus" of Russians from the occupied Ukrainian peninsula, where they moved in expectation of a "paradise life", writes obozrevatel.com.

"Who needs an apartment under fire?"

Russia is barbarically building up the occupied peninsula, but in one year (from July 2022 to July 2023) the number of transactions involving new buildings has fallen by almost 40 per cent. Russian estate agents are already openly saying that "this is due to uncertainty, the proximity of hostilities and complicated logistics".

The situation on the secondary market is no better. "In any case, there are almost no Russians willing to invest in housing in Crimea. Before, those who decided to move here permanently and for summer holidays bought, but now the situation has changed dramatically. Russians admit that they are afraid of hostilities on the territory of the peninsula and missile strikes. And who needs an apartment under fire?", - said a resident of Simferopol.

Forced return

Russian media published information that many Crimeans are buying apartments in Russia's Krasnodar region, where the demand for real estate has increased by 40-50% over the year. However, according to our interlocutors in the occupied peninsula, it is not mainly native Crimeans who are fleeing. They are mainly fleeing Russians who, after the occupation, decided to make a "paradise life" in Crimea, counting on the cheapness and the beautiful climate, but the full-scale war has made its own adjustments.

Russia has turned the occupied peninsula into a huge military base, and now the aggressor's many facilities are a legitimate target for strikes - which have been taking place with enviable regularity. At the same time, the Russians fear "even greater escalation" - as they vaguely call Ukraine's desire to regain control of the seized peninsula.

"For the Russians, the liberation of Crimea is like throwing a red rag to a bull. But if they were laughing in their faces before, now they are really afraid of such a development. Many of the occupiers from the command staff who were sent to Crimea have moved here with their families and got their own flats. Now there is almost a mass exodus of these newcomers back to Russia," said the interlocutor in Crimea.

Among those who have decided to move to the Russian Federation are a small number of 'native' Crimeans. And these are mostly collaborators who fear retribution for their betrayal.

It is interesting to note that both Russians and Ukrainian traitors are now cursing the Russian army, which has proved incapable of "protecting" them, despite self-confident statements to the contrary.

Most failed season

"The 2023 season is probably the worst in the history of Crimea, with sales down 80 per cent compared to 2021 and 30-40 per cent compared to last year's volumes," Boris Zelinsky, co-founder of the Kandahar group of companies, told RosSMI. And the head of the Crimean occupation, Sergei Aksyonov, claims that hotel occupancy on the peninsula is now around 40-45 per cent, and almost 80 per cent on the south coast. Local residents, however, deny this and say the figures are much lower.

"The flow of tourists is at a minimum. Yes, Yalta, Alushta, Gurzuf are still somewhat full, but the hotels and sanatoriums are full of Russian military. It is difficult to call it a choice of tourists", - said our interlocutor.

The situation is quite "gloomy" for private individuals who rent out holiday accommodation. They were the first to feel the refusal of Russians to come to Crimea. If hotels and resorts have lowered their prices by 30% just to attract tourists, the private sector is offering discounts of up to 60%.

The fact that tickets for trains to Crimea departing from Moscow's Kazan railway station can now be bought 90 days in advance shows that the flow of tourists is decreasing. But even this does not change the situation. And every statement by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Kyrylo Budanov, head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defence, that Crimea will definitely be liberated, makes not only the occupiers nervous, but also the 'ordinary' citizens of the aggressor country - they certainly don't want to lose their money (or even their lives).