Russians travelled abroad 24.3 million times in 2022, with arrivals to Uzbekistan increasing by 99% during the year, Novaya Gazeta. Europe reported citing data of the Russian FSB.
According to the publication, the Russians broke the five-year record for entering Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Mongolia. In 2022, Russians visited these countries 8.4 million times, which is by 4.7 million more than in 2021.
Reportedly, the majority of Russians left the country in Q3 of 2022, when mobilization was announced in Russia. 3.5 million arrivals from Russia to neighboring countries were recorded in July-September, and another 2.1 million in October-December.
During the year, departures to Mongolia increased by 989%, to Georgia by 475%, to Kazakhstan by 234%, to Tajikistan by 212%, and to Uzbekistan by 99%.
Alos, in 2022, the number of Russians’ visits to Israel doubled, exceeding 100,000. The number of departures of Russians to Thailand, Sri Lanka, India and the United Arab Emirates has also increased.
According to Mediazona, which analyzed FSB’s statistics, more Russian citizens left Russia in 2022 than in 2021, when the coronavirus restrictions were still in place, but this was almost twice as low as in a normal year without war and without COVID-19.
FSB took into account all trips of citizens of the Russian Federation outside the country, that is, if a person went abroad twice, both trips are counted in the statistics. However, the FSB did not disclose information on the re-entry of Russians to their country.
