Russians Rushed To Transfer Money To Georgia

Amid rumors of mobilization.

Russians have once again begun rapidly transferring money to Georgia amid rumors of a possible new wave of mobilization this fall. In July, the volume of ruble deposits in Georgian banks increased by 32.9% compared to the previous month, reaching 98.605 million lari, or about 3.1 billion rubles. Year-over-year, the figure rose by 48.4%. This is according to data from the National Bank of Georgia, as reported by the publication BPN.

The growth in ruble-denominated deposits in Georgian banks began in July 2022. In just one month, their volume increased by 177%—from 17.908 million lari in June to 49.591 million lari in July. In recent months, the figure has gradually declined, but since July 2023, it has begun to rise again, peaking in March 2025, when ruble-denominated deposits totaled 121.021 million lari, or about 3.7 billion rubles. At the same time, rubles account for only 0.13% of all funds deposited in Georgian banks. The total volume of deposits in Georgia’s banking sector reached 73.93 billion lari, or about $28.1 billion, by the end of July. The dollar’s share in the structure of foreign currency accounts was 77.16%, while the euro’s share was 20.3%.

Earlier, tens of thousands of Russians decided to travel to Georgia. During the week of August 17–24, the only operational land border crossing on the Russian-Georgian border “Verkhniy Lars,” was crossed by more than 113,000 people. Eyewitnesses reported that a massive traffic jam had formed on the Russian side of the border, with cars moving at a speed of 50 meters per hour. In September 2022, when Vladimir Putin announced mobilization, “Verkhniy Lars” was also the busiest border crossing on Russian territory.

Rumors of a new mobilization, which could begin after the September State Duma elections, have been circulating for the past few months. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was the first to speak out about this. According to him, Putin plans to send another “300,000 to 500,000 people” to the front, since the Russian Ministry of Defense cannot recruit enough contract soldiers.

Following this, European officials suggested that the Kremlin might take such a step if heavy losses on the front lines continue. Sources within the Russian government cited by the publication “Versтка” did not rule out the possibility that, in addition to mobilization, martial law could be declared in the country. For its part, the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reported signs of preparations for a new mass draft into the Russian army. Meanwhile, the Kremlin and the State Duma denied such plans and called reports of mobilization “fake news.”

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