Putin announced the return of about half of the departed citizens

Approximately half of the Russians who left have already returned to the country. This was stated by Russian President Vladimir Putin at the plenary session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF).

“I don’t see anything wrong here. Let people live where they see fit, work. <...> 50%, according to our conservative estimates, of those who left have already returned. This process continues,” the head of state said, answering the moderator’s question.

Putin noted that many Russians left for the UAE, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Armenia and Azerbaijan. Putin considered the movement of Russians a process “rather positive than negative”, since they will become an “element of an additional connection” between Russia and countries with which the Russian Federation is developing economic and humanitarian contacts.

The day before, June 15, Presidential Aide Maxim Oreshkin also informed about the return of “almost half of those who left” in the fall of 2022 “The level of optimism of the population at record highs. It is important that this trend does not reverse,” he said on the sidelines of SPIEF.

Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said that pessimists left the country, and optimists remained. Therefore, the challenge for the Russian economy is the return of pessimists to Russia, he added.

Against the backdrop of Russia’s special operation in Ukraine, there were several waves of emigration from Russia. The first wave occurred immediately after the start of the special operation in the spring of 2022, the second after the announcement of partial mobilization in September 2022. There is no official data on how many people left Russia last year.

In February, State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin informedthat 60% of Russians who left the countries have already returned and are working again at the enterprises where they worked before leaving. However, he did not specify what time period he was talking about.

In the Kremlin before spokethat it is necessary to take all measures so that the Russians who left the country want to return.