Economic consequences of the migration wave from Russia to Serbia in the context of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict

Maracheva Daria (Državni institut za međunarodne odnose, Moskva), daria.maracheva@gmail.com

This article explores the new migration wave from Russia, triggered by the Russian-Ukrainian conflict(February 2022-December 2024), and its implications for the economy of the Republic of Serbia. The influx of young, educated, and highly skilled migrants from Russia has contributed to the launch of numerous economic ventures. However, it also comes with a set of challenges for Serbian policymakers. The author initially hypothesises that the influx of Russian professionals and businesses brings positive changes to the Serbian economy in the short term. On the other hand, limited interaction with local Serbian professionals reduces the long-term benefits that this migration could have. The author discusses these challenges and suggests several recommendations, i.e., measures to improve this situation, such as introducing targeted grant programmes that will support joint investments of Russian and Serbian professionals, partnerships between Russian IT companies and Serbian universities, and revision of employment incentives

Keywords: migration, immigrants’ contribution, public policies, Serbia, Russian Federation