Approximately 108-110 Thousand Russians Arrived in Armenia in 2022 and Stayed for Permanent Residence: Kerobyan

Approximately 108-110 thousand Russians arrived in Armenia in 2022 and stayed for permanent residence. This was announced by Armenia's Minister of Economy Vahan Kerobyan in an interview with "Vedomosti".

“Last year, around 2,500 legal entities with Russian participation were established, along with 4,000 individual entrepreneurs. On average, Russians open 500 businesses every year,” the minister stated.

Kerobyan noted that Russia and Armenia have completely abandoned transactions in dollars and euros. “As a result, the issue of the ruble-dram exchange rate is becoming more prominent. The Russian currency is extremely unstable, significantly limiting both exports and imports,” he said.

The minister clarified that over the past year, the dram has strengthened against the dollar by 18 percent, and that overall level has been maintained.

“In terms of predictability, the Armenian currency now seems more preferable, but for understandable reasons, its use in bilateral trade is limited,” he noted.

He reminded that during discussions between the leaders of Armenia and Russia in April 2022, they agreed to expand the use of national currencies in mutual trade calculations.