About author: Ani Grigoryan is the founder and editor of CivilNetCheck - a fact checking department at CivilNet online TV. She has extensive experience in journalism, for more than 8 years. In the last three years she specialized in fact checking and investigative journalism.

37-year-old Dmitry Rusakov moved to Armenia from the Russian city of Perm and has been living in the capital Yerevan for about three months. Dmitry had never been to Armenia before and had no Armenian friends. The decision to move was made in a haste, in just under two days. He bought tickets to an almost unknown country and moved here with his family.

Back in Perm, Dmitry worked in the IT sphere. "I am not a programmer, but I have a knack for organising the processes very efficiently. In 2021 I realised that I want to go deeper into the IT sector and to have my own company, so in 2021 my partner and I opened an IT company," says Rusakov.

The company specialises in several areas: custom development of software support (software development), robotics, mobile application development, as well as a separate direction - machine learning related to artificial intelligence. Dmitry mentions that the company had a very successful start in Russia.

"At the request of Russian companies, which were large greenhouses, we started working on a prototype of a robot that picks cucumbers," said Dmitry, adding that the prototype was ready mid-February and had to be tested in the fields. However, on February 24, an "explosion" took place, which changed everything.

Dmitry notes that in a short period of time they even had partners in the Netherlands they provided services to, assisted in robotics, as well as in machine learning.

"Although I did not want to talk about politics, on February 24 had repercussions all over the world, my colleagues called and said they can’t pay us anymore even if they wanted to," the entrepreneur recalls. Two days after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, on February 26, Rusakov arrived in Armenia with his wife and 15-year-old son.

As to why the choice of "unknown Armenia," Rusakov highlights the visa free entry.

"It was also important that the locals understand Russian. Although, to be honest, I half-expected it to be like Georgia. I had been there, and the young people do not understand Russian at all, you have to explain in English, while in Armenia they do understand," says Rusakov.

The entrepreneur confesses that he came to Armenia for "scouting" to get an in-depth view of the business and IT sphere on the spot. Currently, his partner and the team are still in Perm to complete the current projects, while Rusakov is here, actively meeting heads of IT companies, participating in events, and establishing contacts to understand the next steps. 

"I learned everything there is to learn regarding the legal side, but oftentimes law and practice may differ, so it is best to communicate with companies that have experience, to understand whether what they say is true," says the entrepreneur.

Like Rusakov, many Russians decided to leave Russia after the outbreak of war in Ukraine and many moved to Armenia. Days after the war, especially in the centre of Yerevan, in banks, and hotels, many Russians were around. In the pages of real estate agencies, they were looking for apartments for rent, checking information in various Facebook and Telegram groups, and trying to adapt to the city, to the new life.

The number of flights from Russia increased significantly, with the number of flights skyrocketing in the first days of March. On March 4-7, more than 30 daily flights were operated from Russia to Yerevan. Previously and now the number of flights from Russia to Armenia is around 20 per day.

There are currently no exact figures on the number of Russians who have moved and currently live in Armenia. According to the RA Migration Service, more than 142 000 Russian citizens arrived in Armenia during the first quarter of 2022, but a large part of them later left the country, going to Georgia and other destinations.

From February to the beginning of May, more than 855 legal entities were registered by Russian citizens, both individual entrepreneurs and LLCs, which is a revealing number.

Dmitry Rusakov plans to register the company here. He said that it is a rather simple, easy process that takes only three days.

"As a director, it was interesting for me to know whether there are any obstacles, and what to expect. I have not noticed any obstacle that can hinder me from continuing my activities in Armenia, especially international activities," says the business owner.

He admits that he was especially surprised by the willingness of his Armenian colleagues to help. "What surprised me, in terms of business, relationships, is that many people, not having any hidden motives and vested interest, sincerely want to help. They introduced me to other people, the founders of companies, who were very willing to help.”

Rusakov is also trying to get involved in various activities in Armenia. He is already acquainted with the rector of the Agrarian University of Armenia and discussed the possibilities of cooperation. For example, there are some tasks, but students have trouble mastering agricultural machine learning or writing codes, so Rusakov’s company can share their experience.

The entrepreneur says it is clear that the IT sector will have trouble developing in Russia at this period of time, especially in the international direction; and Armenia gives that opportunity.

"Frankly, I did not know where I was going, but the reality is better than I expected. No problem. You can live and work here," says the entrepreneur.

Maria Morozova moved from Moscow to Yerevan in mid-March. Like Rusakov, Maria moved to a country she had never been to. And the reality has exceeded her expectations.

"It’s very pleasant. We are not used to such openness in Moscow. You even think for a moment what’s the catch, you are sceptical at first, but then you realise that it is normal, everyone really wants to help, which is something we felt the lack of [in Moscow]," says Morozova.

The 28-year-old woman is also from the IT industry, where she worked as a business developer in a Russian IT company in Moscow. She says that the uncertainty and emotional pressure led to the decision to move to Armenia and live here for a long time.

"Especially in the last two months, it was emotionally very difficult for us in Russia. It was difficult to accept what was happening. We were all especially worried about how we would be treated, accepted, who [Russians] are, how we are identified, taking into account the international hatred towards us. I was afraid of [the] discrimination that was happening in other countries," says Maria.

She had talked to her friends who had moved to Armenia, making sure that people were friendly, that there was no enmity, and once she found out that was the case, she chose Armenia.

"At the very least, we wanted a safe environment so that we would not be emotionally pressured and were treated as before," she said։

Maria's relatives stayed in Russia. She admits that at first, they were very worried, because there was an opinion that Russians were not welcome anywhere, and that it was dangerous to leave the country. She has long explained why it is necessary to leave Russia, that it was important for her future and career.

"At first they were very worried, but when I told them about the situation and attitudes here, they changed their opinion. I am happier in Armenia than I was there," the woman says.

After the great influx of Russians, the prices of rented houses, particularly in Yerevan, have spiked considerably. Maria says she is lucky as she lives in the house of an Armenian friend, who also moved there from Russia.

She has gotten used to the daily ins and outs of life in Yerevan. She mentions that there are some inconveniences, but they are insignificant.

"There are very few negative things I can pinpoint. The war led to the revision of values; the external aesthetics are not so important. Of course, the quality of life has declined on some issues, especially in connection with banks, transport, and some infrastructure. Moscow has spoiled us, but they are small things, not important," Maria confesses.

Despite the change in her environment, she admits she can’t stay away from the news. It is especially difficult to communicate with relatives in Russia, who have one source of information - the state - they are constantly under propaganda. "They do not accept other information; it is often difficult. I find myself trying to bypass those topics, but the topic [restarts], and I have a hard time showing them the other side. It is difficult."

"There are two emotional states: one is the emotional rock-bottom of what is happening in Ukraine and in my country, and the other is that everything is fine. A mood swing. It is impossible to come to terms with the war," says Maria.

She mentions that she participated in the March 20th anti-war demonstration-march in Yerevan, in solidarity with Ukraine.

"Besides, we went to a literary evening, where authors through the works of Armenian, Russian, and Ukrainian poems expressed their feelings about the war, showed Ukrainian authors, and it was impossible to not shed a tear,” says Maria, emphasising that she is happy that at this stage she is among Armenians, who, having gone through a devastating war themselves, understand her "in terms of processing the emotions arising from the war, helping and teaching to survive this period."

Maria says at this stage, she still plans to stay in Armenia. She plans to move from a Russian company to international or Armenian IT companies, which are quite good and provide great opportunities.

"Frankly, I like the people here the most, both the locals and the Russians who moved here, who have the same values, we are on the same wavelength, we help each other a lot, we already have our favourite places to get together," she adds.

Like Maria and Dmitry, many other Russians are trying to build their lives from scratch in Armenia. Not just to stay and to live, but to have a positive impact. For example, on April 23, some of the Russians who moved to Armenia, initiated a garbage clean-up activity in Yerevan, which received a positive public response.