In 2022, Russians sent record sums to neighboring countries

In 2022, Russians sent record amounts of remittances to neighboring countries. This is reported by RBC. The publication studied the statistics of transfers to Kazakhstan, Georgia, Uzbekistan, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan.

Russians sent more than 775 million dollars to Kazakhstan. This is a record since 2014. Statistics of the National Bank of Kazakhstan are available from this period. The indicator is almost seven times higher than the amount of transfers sent to the republic in 2021.

Russian citizens sent two billion dollars to Georgia – a record since 2012. Last year, 411 million dollars were sent from Russia to Georgia.

The volume of remittances to Uzbekistan amounted to 14.5 billion dollars. This indicator is more than two and a half times higher than last year.

Armenia and Kyrgyzstan have not yet published statistics for 2022. It is known that by November, the volume of transfers to Armenia increased four times compared to the same period last year and exceeded three billion dollars. The Russians sent more than two and a half billion dollars to Kyrgyzstan. This is a record since 2005. At the same time, the indicator is only 6% higher than last year.

One of the main reasons for the increase in transfers was the migration of Russians to other countries against the background of the start of Russia’s war with Ukraine and the subsequent mobilization, RBC interlocutors note.

According to the latest FSB data, almost 10 million Russian citizens went abroad from July to September – a million more than last year. First of all, Russians left for visa-free countries. The number of visits to Kazakhstan, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan set a five-year record, writes RBC.

Neighboring states have also become popular for so-called card tourism. After the introduction of sanctions, international payment systems left the Russian market and Russians went to other countries to issue international bank cards.

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