In Race to Lure Russian Talent and Capital, Serbia Emerges as Front-Runner
By Bojan Pancevski, Oct. 26, 2022, WSJ

BELGRADE, Serbia—Among the countries that have opened their doors to the wave of Russians now fleeing their country, this small Balkan nation has emerged as a prime destination for tech firms and highly skilled professionals.

Up to one million Russians are estimated to have left Russia since Feb. 23, many taking their businesses with them. The flow increased after the Russian government began drafting men last month to replenish its troops in Ukraine.

In the early days of Moscow’s war in Ukraine, Turkey, Dubai and Georgia welcomed large numbers of Russians. But many of them are now flocking to Serbia, a country that is seeking to join the European Union and enjoys tariff-free trade with the bloc.

As the EU cuts economic ties with Moscow, the Slavic nation has become a bridgehead for Russian companies and graduates, especially tech workers. Some exiles are here so that they can maintain business ties with the West despite sanctions. Others are
simply fleeing President Vladimir Putin’s authoritarian regime.

The exodus is one of the many costs that Russia has had to pay for Mr. Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine, one that could burden the country—and benefit its neighbors—for years, even decades after the conflict ends.

Vladimir Samoilov, a 33-year-old avionics engineer turned software development manager for the Samsung Electronics Co.-owned company Whisk, left Russia in March with his wife and son and relocated to Novi Sad, a city north of Belgrade, the capital, after
considering Turkey, Georgia and Dubai.

“If you have family, Serbia is the top destination in terms of language, taxation, healthcare and education,” he said.

Tens of thousands of Russian engineers, programmers, entrepreneurs, artists and scientists have come to Serbia in recent months; nearly 700 Russia-linked firms have opened branch offices employing thousands of Russians, and around 1,500 Russian citizens
have set up new companies since February, according to government data. Many simply take advantage of the visa-free regime and stay in Serbia while working remotely for foreign employers.

Historically, Serbia, which has a population of just over seven million, has been a close Moscow ally, and its media have generally been sympathetic to Russia in their coverage of the war.

Serbia has condemned the invasion of Ukraine but hasn’t adopted sanctions against Russia. Russians still enjoy visa-free travel to Serbia, one of the few countries that still maintains direct flights to Russia. The Serbian language is close to Russian,
which is now frequently heard across the trendy shops, bars and restaurants of Belgrade.

Serbia’s Interior Ministry didn’t respond to a query about how many Russians have entered the country since February. Some officials estimated that no less than 50,000 and not more than 100,000 had entered since the start of the war. In Russia’s
neighboring Kazakhstan, Georgia and Finland, authorities recorded 98,000, 53,000 and 43,000 entries, respectively, according to figures compiled by Meduza, an independent Russian news outlet headquartered in Latvia.

While many Russian exiles say they oppose the war and Mr. Putin’s regime—Mr. Samoilov runs long-distance races sporting a Ukrainian flag patch—many also say they feel more welcome here than further west.

Stepan Kazaryan, a well-known concert promoter from Moscow, now lives in a Belgrade apartment owned by the grandson of Russian exiles. Within months, he set up an events-management company and organized his first music festival in Belgrade.

Mr. Kazaryan says he opposes the war and no longer speaks to his mother in Russia who supports it. Still, he says many people like him face open hostility in Western Europe.

The Russian exodus mirrors a mass migration wave a century ago, when Russians like the family of Mr. Kazaryan’s landlord fled the Bolshevik Revolution and settled across Europe, including in Serbia, where they contributed to an economic and cultural
renaissance. Serbia’s government, seated in a building designed in 1926 by Nikolay Krasnov, a Russian refugee, hopes history will now repeat itself.

“Countries are competing to attract the fleeing Russian elites and Serbia is well-placed to profit from that injection of valuable human and financial capital,” said Ivan Vejvoda, a Belgrade-born Permanent Fellow of the Institute for Human Sciences
in Vienna.

Mr. Putin’s regime has tried to stop the bleeding by exempting IT professionals from the draft and offering tax breaks, cheaper loans and preferential mortgages to tech workers—to little effect so far.

Days after the invasion, Russian tech heavyweights such as Yandex NV, as well as Western-listed companies with large Russian staff, such as Luxoft Inc., a software developer, and Wargaming, a game designer, all relocated some staff to Serbia.

Luxoft, which develops artificial intelligence-powered software for banks, telecoms and car makers such as BMW AG and Volkswagen AG, relocated 1,000 senior engineers from Russia to Belgrade, and is in the process of bringing in another 1,000, said
Mihajlo Postic, the company’s Serbia representative.

The Serbian government helped charter four airliners from the state-controlled Air Serbia carrier for the staff and their families and issued work and residence permits quickly, Mr. Postic said.

Because of a shortage of homes on the rental market—prices have nearly doubled in parts of Belgrade due to Russian demand—Mr. Postic’s company is now negotiating with the government a potential investment in a residential development to house the
thousands of workers it intends to permanently employ in the country.

Incentives for foreign investors include a 70% discount on taxes and social contributions for five years as well as other subsidies, said Nenad Paunovic, a senior Serbian official involved in attracting foreign capital. The system was originally designed
to appeal to Western companies such as Microsoft Corp., which runs a development center in Belgrade, he said.

One Luxsoft engineer and his wife arrived in Belgrade on March 7. The couple had been to Georgia and Turkey, but found Serbia more attractive to start a new life.

“The cultural differences are small…we feel at home here, and this is a democracy where people can protest against the government,” the engineer’s wife said.

A friend of hers, a particle physicist, was fired from her job at Moscow’s reputed Kurchatov Institute for nuclear research after posting antiwar statements on social media. Both women have a tense relationship with their parents because of their
decision to flee.

The sense of being welcome, as well as the lifestyle in Belgrade, a vibrant capital with a lively culinary and entertainment scene, was a key attraction, said Nikola Stojanovic, Wargaming’s Serbia chief, who relocated 300 employees from St. Petersburg.

Some of the exiles have gone on to create their own businesses. Katarina Markovic and her husband sold their Moscow apartment weeks after the invasion started and decided to start anew in Belgrade. They now run a popular restaurant called Birds and plan
to open a second in November.

“I didn’t want my son to grow up in Russia,” she said.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/in-race-to-lure-russian-talent-and-capital-serbia-emerges-as-front-runner-11666793707

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On Sunday, October 30, 2022 at 11:34:13 PM UTC+8, David P. wrote:

In Race to Lure Russian Talent and Capital, Serbia Emerges as Front-Runner By Bojan Pancevski, Oct. 26, 2022, WSJ

BELGRADE, Serbia—Among the countries that have opened their doors to the wave of Russians now fleeing their country, this small Balkan nation has emerged as a prime destination for tech firms and highly skilled professionals.

Up to one million Russians are estimated to have left Russia since Feb. 23, many taking their businesses with them. The flow increased after the Russian government began drafting men last month to replenish its troops in Ukraine.

In the early days of Moscow’s war in Ukraine, Turkey, Dubai and Georgia welcomed large numbers of Russians. But many of them are now flocking to Serbia, a country that is seeking to join the European Union and enjoys tariff-free trade with the bloc.

As the EU cuts economic ties with Moscow, the Slavic nation has become a bridgehead for Russian companies and graduates, especially tech workers. Some exiles are here so that they can maintain business ties with the West despite sanctions. Others are

simply fleeing President Vladimir Putin’s authoritarian regime.

The exodus is one of the many costs that Russia has had to pay for Mr. Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine, one that could burden the country—and benefit its neighbors—for years, even decades after the conflict ends.

Vladimir Samoilov, a 33-year-old avionics engineer turned software development manager for the Samsung Electronics Co.-owned company Whisk, left Russia in March with his wife and son and relocated to Novi Sad, a city north of Belgrade, the capital,

after considering Turkey, Georgia and Dubai.

“If you have family, Serbia is the top destination in terms of language, taxation, healthcare and education,” he said.

Tens of thousands of Russian engineers, programmers, entrepreneurs, artists and scientists have come to Serbia in recent months; nearly 700 Russia-linked firms have opened branch offices employing thousands of Russians, and around 1,500 Russian

citizens have set up new companies since February, according to government data. Many simply take advantage of the visa-free regime and stay in Serbia while working remotely for foreign employers.

Historically, Serbia, which has a population of just over seven million, has been a close Moscow ally, and its media have generally been sympathetic to Russia in their coverage of the war.

Serbia has condemned the invasion of Ukraine but hasn’t adopted sanctions against Russia. Russians still enjoy visa-free travel to Serbia, one of the few countries that still maintains direct flights to Russia. The Serbian language is close to

Russian, which is now frequently heard across the trendy shops, bars and restaurants of Belgrade.

Serbia’s Interior Ministry didn’t respond to a query about how many Russians have entered the country since February. Some officials estimated that no less than 50,000 and not more than 100,000 had entered since the start of the war. In Russia’s

neighboring Kazakhstan, Georgia and Finland, authorities recorded 98,000, 53,000 and 43,000 entries, respectively, according to figures compiled by Meduza, an independent Russian news outlet headquartered in Latvia.

While many Russian exiles say they oppose the war and Mr. Putin’s regime—Mr. Samoilov runs long-distance races sporting a Ukrainian flag patch—many also say they feel more welcome here than further west.

Stepan Kazaryan, a well-known concert promoter from Moscow, now lives in a Belgrade apartment owned by the grandson of Russian exiles. Within months, he set up an events-management company and organized his first music festival in Belgrade.

Mr. Kazaryan says he opposes the war and no longer speaks to his mother in Russia who supports it. Still, he says many people like him face open hostility in Western Europe.

The Russian exodus mirrors a mass migration wave a century ago, when Russians like the family of Mr. Kazaryan’s landlord fled the Bolshevik Revolution and settled across Europe, including in Serbia, where they contributed to an economic and cultural

renaissance. Serbia’s government, seated in a building designed in 1926 by Nikolay Krasnov, a Russian refugee, hopes history will now repeat itself.

“Countries are competing to attract the fleeing Russian elites and Serbia is well-placed to profit from that injection of valuable human and financial capital,” said Ivan Vejvoda, a Belgrade-born Permanent Fellow of the Institute for Human Sciences

in Vienna.

Mr. Putin’s regime has tried to stop the bleeding by exempting IT professionals from the draft and offering tax breaks, cheaper loans and preferential mortgages to tech workers—to little effect so far.

Days after the invasion, Russian tech heavyweights such as Yandex NV, as well as Western-listed companies with large Russian staff, such as Luxoft Inc., a software developer, and Wargaming, a game designer, all relocated some staff to Serbia.

Luxoft, which develops artificial intelligence-powered software for banks, telecoms and car makers such as BMW AG and Volkswagen AG, relocated 1,000 senior engineers from Russia to Belgrade, and is in the process of bringing in another 1,000, said

Mihajlo Postic, the company’s Serbia representative.

The Serbian government helped charter four airliners from the state-controlled Air Serbia carrier for the staff and their families and issued work and residence permits quickly, Mr. Postic said.

Because of a shortage of homes on the rental market—prices have nearly doubled in parts of Belgrade due to Russian demand—Mr. Postic’s company is now negotiating with the government a potential investment in a residential development to house the

thousands of workers it intends to permanently employ in the country.

Incentives for foreign investors include a 70% discount on taxes and social contributions for five years as well as other subsidies, said Nenad Paunovic, a senior Serbian official involved in attracting foreign capital. The system was originally

designed to appeal to Western companies such as Microsoft Corp., which runs a development center in Belgrade, he said.

One Luxsoft engineer and his wife arrived in Belgrade on March 7. The couple had been to Georgia and Turkey, but found Serbia more attractive to start a new life.

“The cultural differences are small…we feel at home here, and this is a democracy where people can protest against the government,” the engineer’s wife said.

A friend of hers, a particle physicist, was fired from her job at Moscow’s reputed Kurchatov Institute for nuclear research after posting antiwar statements on social media. Both women have a tense relationship with their parents because of their

decision to flee.

The sense of being welcome, as well as the lifestyle in Belgrade, a vibrant capital with a lively culinary and entertainment scene, was a key attraction, said Nikola Stojanovic, Wargaming’s Serbia chief, who relocated 300 employees from St.

Petersburg.

Some of the exiles have gone on to create their own businesses. Katarina Markovic and her husband sold their Moscow apartment weeks after the invasion started and decided to start anew in Belgrade. They now run a popular restaurant called Birds and

plan to open a second in November.

“I didn’t want my son to grow up in Russia,” she said.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/in-race-to-lure-russian-talent-and-capital-serbia-emerges-as-front-runner-11666793707

This is just a flow of people moving in and out of their country to find job; to visit friends, or to set up or expand their businesses to develop new markets, or connect up customers elsewhere an escape of doing national service duties. They are
required by law to comply and to return to fulfil the state order. In many countries where there is conscription and call-up laws, it is normal to see continuity of economic activities in this way even there is a war going on by their country. Moreover,
these people go to countries where they are familiar with language, culture, and food for them, too.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On Sunday, October 30, 2022 at 11:34:13 PM UTC+8, David P. wrote:

In Race to Lure Russian Talent and Capital, Serbia Emerges as Front-Runner By Bojan Pancevski, Oct. 26, 2022, WSJ

BELGRADE, Serbia—Among the countries that have opened their doors to the wave of Russians now fleeing their country, this small Balkan nation has emerged as a prime destination for tech firms and highly skilled professionals.

Up to one million Russians are estimated to have left Russia since Feb. 23, many taking their businesses with them. The flow increased after the Russian government began drafting men last month to replenish its troops in Ukraine.

In the early days of Moscow’s war in Ukraine, Turkey, Dubai and Georgia welcomed large numbers of Russians. But many of them are now flocking to Serbia, a country that is seeking to join the European Union and enjoys tariff-free trade with the bloc.

As the EU cuts economic ties with Moscow, the Slavic nation has become a bridgehead for Russian companies and graduates, especially tech workers. Some exiles are here so that they can maintain business ties with the West despite sanctions. Others are

simply fleeing President Vladimir Putin’s authoritarian regime.

The exodus is one of the many costs that Russia has had to pay for Mr. Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine, one that could burden the country—and benefit its neighbors—for years, even decades after the conflict ends.

Vladimir Samoilov, a 33-year-old avionics engineer turned software development manager for the Samsung Electronics Co.-owned company Whisk, left Russia in March with his wife and son and relocated to Novi Sad, a city north of Belgrade, the capital,

after considering Turkey, Georgia and Dubai.

“If you have family, Serbia is the top destination in terms of language, taxation, healthcare and education,” he said.

Tens of thousands of Russian engineers, programmers, entrepreneurs, artists and scientists have come to Serbia in recent months; nearly 700 Russia-linked firms have opened branch offices employing thousands of Russians, and around 1,500 Russian

citizens have set up new companies since February, according to government data. Many simply take advantage of the visa-free regime and stay in Serbia while working remotely for foreign employers.

Historically, Serbia, which has a population of just over seven million, has been a close Moscow ally, and its media have generally been sympathetic to Russia in their coverage of the war.

Serbia has condemned the invasion of Ukraine but hasn’t adopted sanctions against Russia. Russians still enjoy visa-free travel to Serbia, one of the few countries that still maintains direct flights to Russia. The Serbian language is close to

Russian, which is now frequently heard across the trendy shops, bars and restaurants of Belgrade.

Serbia’s Interior Ministry didn’t respond to a query about how many Russians have entered the country since February. Some officials estimated that no less than 50,000 and not more than 100,000 had entered since the start of the war. In Russia’s

neighboring Kazakhstan, Georgia and Finland, authorities recorded 98,000, 53,000 and 43,000 entries, respectively, according to figures compiled by Meduza, an independent Russian news outlet headquartered in Latvia.

While many Russian exiles say they oppose the war and Mr. Putin’s regime—Mr. Samoilov runs long-distance races sporting a Ukrainian flag patch—many also say they feel more welcome here than further west.

Stepan Kazaryan, a well-known concert promoter from Moscow, now lives in a Belgrade apartment owned by the grandson of Russian exiles. Within months, he set up an events-management company and organized his first music festival in Belgrade.

Mr. Kazaryan says he opposes the war and no longer speaks to his mother in Russia who supports it. Still, he says many people like him face open hostility in Western Europe.

The Russian exodus mirrors a mass migration wave a century ago, when Russians like the family of Mr. Kazaryan’s landlord fled the Bolshevik Revolution and settled across Europe, including in Serbia, where they contributed to an economic and cultural

renaissance. Serbia’s government, seated in a building designed in 1926 by Nikolay Krasnov, a Russian refugee, hopes history will now repeat itself.

“Countries are competing to attract the fleeing Russian elites and Serbia is well-placed to profit from that injection of valuable human and financial capital,” said Ivan Vejvoda, a Belgrade-born Permanent Fellow of the Institute for Human Sciences

in Vienna.

Mr. Putin’s regime has tried to stop the bleeding by exempting IT professionals from the draft and offering tax breaks, cheaper loans and preferential mortgages to tech workers—to little effect so far.

Days after the invasion, Russian tech heavyweights such as Yandex NV, as well as Western-listed companies with large Russian staff, such as Luxoft Inc., a software developer, and Wargaming, a game designer, all relocated some staff to Serbia.

Luxoft, which develops artificial intelligence-powered software for banks, telecoms and car makers such as BMW AG and Volkswagen AG, relocated 1,000 senior engineers from Russia to Belgrade, and is in the process of bringing in another 1,000, said

Mihajlo Postic, the company’s Serbia representative.

The Serbian government helped charter four airliners from the state-controlled Air Serbia carrier for the staff and their families and issued work and residence permits quickly, Mr. Postic said.

Because of a shortage of homes on the rental market—prices have nearly doubled in parts of Belgrade due to Russian demand—Mr. Postic’s company is now negotiating with the government a potential investment in a residential development to house the

thousands of workers it intends to permanently employ in the country.

Incentives for foreign investors include a 70% discount on taxes and social contributions for five years as well as other subsidies, said Nenad Paunovic, a senior Serbian official involved in attracting foreign capital. The system was originally

designed to appeal to Western companies such as Microsoft Corp., which runs a development center in Belgrade, he said.

One Luxsoft engineer and his wife arrived in Belgrade on March 7. The couple had been to Georgia and Turkey, but found Serbia more attractive to start a new life.

“The cultural differences are small…we feel at home here, and this is a democracy where people can protest against the government,” the engineer’s wife said.

A friend of hers, a particle physicist, was fired from her job at Moscow’s reputed Kurchatov Institute for nuclear research after posting antiwar statements on social media. Both women have a tense relationship with their parents because of their

decision to flee.

The sense of being welcome, as well as the lifestyle in Belgrade, a vibrant capital with a lively culinary and entertainment scene, was a key attraction, said Nikola Stojanovic, Wargaming’s Serbia chief, who relocated 300 employees from St.

Petersburg.

Some of the exiles have gone on to create their own businesses. Katarina Markovic and her husband sold their Moscow apartment weeks after the invasion started and decided to start anew in Belgrade. They now run a popular restaurant called Birds and

plan to open a second in November.

“I didn’t want my son to grow up in Russia,” she said.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/in-race-to-lure-russian-talent-and-capital-serbia-emerges-as-front-runner-11666793707

This is just a flow of people moving in and out of their country to find job; to visit friends, or to set up or expand their businesses to develop new markets, or connect up customers elsewhere.

It is not an escape of doing national service duties. They are required by law to comply and to return to fulfil the state order. In many countries where there is conscription and call-up laws, it is normal to see continuity of economic activities in
this way even there is a war going on by their country.

Moreover, these people go to countries where they are familiar with language, culture, and food for them, too. In short, life goes on and the needs to feed their homes, too.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On Sunday, October 30, 2022 at 11:34:13 PM UTC+8, David P. wrote:

In Race to Lure Russian Talent and Capital, Serbia Emerges as Front-Runner By Bojan Pancevski, Oct. 26, 2022, WSJ

BELGRADE, Serbia—Among the countries that have opened their doors to the wave of Russians now fleeing their country, this small Balkan nation has emerged as a prime destination for tech firms and highly skilled professionals.

Up to one million Russians are estimated to have left Russia since Feb. 23, many taking their businesses with them. The flow increased after the Russian government began drafting men last month to replenish its troops in Ukraine.

In the early days of Moscow’s war in Ukraine, Turkey, Dubai and Georgia welcomed large numbers of Russians. But many of them are now flocking to Serbia, a country that is seeking to join the European Union and enjoys tariff-free trade with the bloc.

As the EU cuts economic ties with Moscow, the Slavic nation has become a bridgehead for Russian companies and graduates, especially tech workers. Some exiles are here so that they can maintain business ties with the West despite sanctions. Others are

simply fleeing President Vladimir Putin’s authoritarian regime.

The exodus is one of the many costs that Russia has had to pay for Mr. Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine, one that could burden the country—and benefit its neighbors—for years, even decades after the conflict ends.

Vladimir Samoilov, a 33-year-old avionics engineer turned software development manager for the Samsung Electronics Co.-owned company Whisk, left Russia in March with his wife and son and relocated to Novi Sad, a city north of Belgrade, the capital,

after considering Turkey, Georgia and Dubai.

“If you have family, Serbia is the top destination in terms of language, taxation, healthcare and education,” he said.

Tens of thousands of Russian engineers, programmers, entrepreneurs, artists and scientists have come to Serbia in recent months; nearly 700 Russia-linked firms have opened branch offices employing thousands of Russians, and around 1,500 Russian

citizens have set up new companies since February, according to government data. Many simply take advantage of the visa-free regime and stay in Serbia while working remotely for foreign employers.

Historically, Serbia, which has a population of just over seven million, has been a close Moscow ally, and its media have generally been sympathetic to Russia in their coverage of the war.

Serbia has condemned the invasion of Ukraine but hasn’t adopted sanctions against Russia. Russians still enjoy visa-free travel to Serbia, one of the few countries that still maintains direct flights to Russia. The Serbian language is close to

Russian, which is now frequently heard across the trendy shops, bars and restaurants of Belgrade.

Serbia’s Interior Ministry didn’t respond to a query about how many Russians have entered the country since February. Some officials estimated that no less than 50,000 and not more than 100,000 had entered since the start of the war. In Russia’s

neighboring Kazakhstan, Georgia and Finland, authorities recorded 98,000, 53,000 and 43,000 entries, respectively, according to figures compiled by Meduza, an independent Russian news outlet headquartered in Latvia.

While many Russian exiles say they oppose the war and Mr. Putin’s regime—Mr. Samoilov runs long-distance races sporting a Ukrainian flag patch—many also say they feel more welcome here than further west.

Stepan Kazaryan, a well-known concert promoter from Moscow, now lives in a Belgrade apartment owned by the grandson of Russian exiles. Within months, he set up an events-management company and organized his first music festival in Belgrade.

Mr. Kazaryan says he opposes the war and no longer speaks to his mother in Russia who supports it. Still, he says many people like him face open hostility in Western Europe.

The Russian exodus mirrors a mass migration wave a century ago, when Russians like the family of Mr. Kazaryan’s landlord fled the Bolshevik Revolution and settled across Europe, including in Serbia, where they contributed to an economic and cultural

renaissance. Serbia’s government, seated in a building designed in 1926 by Nikolay Krasnov, a Russian refugee, hopes history will now repeat itself.

“Countries are competing to attract the fleeing Russian elites and Serbia is well-placed to profit from that injection of valuable human and financial capital,” said Ivan Vejvoda, a Belgrade-born Permanent Fellow of the Institute for Human Sciences

in Vienna.

Mr. Putin’s regime has tried to stop the bleeding by exempting IT professionals from the draft and offering tax breaks, cheaper loans and preferential mortgages to tech workers—to little effect so far.

Days after the invasion, Russian tech heavyweights such as Yandex NV, as well as Western-listed companies with large Russian staff, such as Luxoft Inc., a software developer, and Wargaming, a game designer, all relocated some staff to Serbia.

Luxoft, which develops artificial intelligence-powered software for banks, telecoms and car makers such as BMW AG and Volkswagen AG, relocated 1,000 senior engineers from Russia to Belgrade, and is in the process of bringing in another 1,000, said

Mihajlo Postic, the company’s Serbia representative.

The Serbian government helped charter four airliners from the state-controlled Air Serbia carrier for the staff and their families and issued work and residence permits quickly, Mr. Postic said.

Because of a shortage of homes on the rental market—prices have nearly doubled in parts of Belgrade due to Russian demand—Mr. Postic’s company is now negotiating with the government a potential investment in a residential development to house the

thousands of workers it intends to permanently employ in the country.

Incentives for foreign investors include a 70% discount on taxes and social contributions for five years as well as other subsidies, said Nenad Paunovic, a senior Serbian official involved in attracting foreign capital. The system was originally

designed to appeal to Western companies such as Microsoft Corp., which runs a development center in Belgrade, he said.

One Luxsoft engineer and his wife arrived in Belgrade on March 7. The couple had been to Georgia and Turkey, but found Serbia more attractive to start a new life.

“The cultural differences are small…we feel at home here, and this is a democracy where people can protest against the government,” the engineer’s wife said.

A friend of hers, a particle physicist, was fired from her job at Moscow’s reputed Kurchatov Institute for nuclear research after posting antiwar statements on social media. Both women have a tense relationship with their parents because of their

decision to flee.

The sense of being welcome, as well as the lifestyle in Belgrade, a vibrant capital with a lively culinary and entertainment scene, was a key attraction, said Nikola Stojanovic, Wargaming’s Serbia chief, who relocated 300 employees from St.

Petersburg.

Some of the exiles have gone on to create their own businesses. Katarina Markovic and her husband sold their Moscow apartment weeks after the invasion started and decided to start anew in Belgrade. They now run a popular restaurant called Birds and

plan to open a second in November.

“I didn’t want my son to grow up in Russia,” she said.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/in-race-to-lure-russian-talent-and-capital-serbia-emerges-as-front-runner-11666793707

This is just a flow of people moving in and out of their country to find job; to visit friends, or to set up or expand their businesses to develop new markets, or connect up customers elsewhere.

It is not an escape of doing national service duties. They are required by law to comply and to return to fulfil the state order. In many countries where there is conscription and call-up laws, it is normal to see continuity of economic activities in
this way even there is a war going on by their country.

Moreover, these people go to countries where they are familiar with language, culture, and food for them, too. Life has to go on, so to speak.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)