Russians in Belgrade - How is the city changing?

[@Tukemuth]

They pay taxes, they don't break laws, they are kind and respectful. As far as I'm concerned, they're "integrated" enough.

[@IlhomHamaaev]

they an all come, slov brotushki

[@basic_Yeti]

A think one has to consider a lot of Russians who moved to Serbia are introverted IT nerds, not exactly the kind of people who easily start conversations and make new friends

[@IlhomHamaaev]

more russians to serbia, all 417mln

[@unknown-vh1dc]

Confirmed by one of them

[@excentrik5725]

I disagree, they cant be that introverted so that when someone says hello to them, their reaction is usually like "whooooah, who are you? i dont know you why are you talking to me, what do you want from me?" Sheeeesh!

[@digestiveissue7710]

Serbian here. With this massive cultural hegemony USA has imposed onto the world thanks to the rise of internet, Russian replacing my language is the least of my worries. The only language I'm worried about replacing my language and culture is English, since all kids just want to watch American movies and play American games long before they learn to appreciate their own culture.

[@antikarch]

I am russian and i want to integrate, but i can not. Unfortunately I do not have access to serbian language environment. I am software developer, and I spend working days at home. I use russian and english in my job related communications. I like Serbia and serbian people! I want to integrate in serbian society. But now i must care firstly about my job, because my temporary residence permit based on job permit. If i lose my job i will lose residence or i will need to find new job in one month - it is unreal to find good job with such time restrictions. So i am waiting for the end of 3th year of having temporary residence, then i will gain possibility to be in Serbia forever without having real estate or job. Then i have a plan to have a language course and to practice volunteering with serbian people, for example in homeless animals shelter.

[@boris035..4]

Just approach people, most of us understand and speak english. Good luck with the job searching!!!

[@BelgradeBeat]

Thanks for reaching out. If your current job ends you can easily stay by opening up your own company called Preduzetnik Pausalac and the tax is reasonable if you have income from clients. For socializing, I'd suggest to going to meetings where Serbs and foreigners mix like couchsurfing meetings every Friday and language exchanges. They don't mind if you don't learn Serbian, English is enough to get to know the Serbs. Try it!

[@NNN-p8w]

If I may suggest, just be open and friendly. Don't let the language barrier stop you. If people see that you want to talk they wil find the way to understand you. Speak to your neighbours, go to some concerts. Life in Serbia could seem tricky and hard for someone who came from more organised country, but when you get it its not that hard.

[@dragonfly8811]

It realy breaks my hart hearing a Russian person say “that he wants to integrate but cannot”!? I’m just wondering what went wrong? If you realy want to integrate, if I might suggest, you just simply go out and meat with Serbian people, you might be surprised how much Serbs love Russians and how immediately you’ll be accepted at face value just because you are Russian. Majority of older Serbs speak Russian language, majority of young Serbians speak English, and also there’s quite a few translating apps available, so language barriere shoudn’t be a problem. It really saddens me to hear you dont feel at home in Serbia, perhaps it will all change when you conect with Serbian people. I wish you all the best, and hopefully next time we hear from you, you’ll be happy in Serbia, because at the end of the day Serbia is and should always be your second home, hoppe you’ll realise that soon.

[@boris035..4]

@@dragonfly8811 The only thing about his words that comes to my mind is that they are gays and they are expecting more enthusiasm from Serbs about gays and their rights?!?!? Coz we love Russians even if they rapped, killed and stole from us every time they had have "helped us"...but we are, after all, the same people.

[@pointgreece4331]

I am from Novi Sad and see many Russians here for the last 3 years even longer. My friend Andey came 2,5 years ago and started to learn Serbian immediately after he landed here. He speaks fluent Serbian and now he is very familiar with Serbian culture, music, movies. He applied for Serbian ID and in may this year he and his with got their Serbian Ids. They go to ski on Jahorina, Kopaonik, coast of Monte Negro, Bulgaria, Turkey. They drive bicycles all over the place, bought apartment here and plan to build a house. Their son is a of the best pupils in his school. They simply wanted to do all mentioned above and they are very happy here. In some way maybe our friendship, love and care I showed to them since the very start was the biggest motivation for them to get integrated here. Russians are bit cold and distanced society, very much segregated and frightened in Russia itself but they are very well educated and polite and they are welcomed in Serbia. Serbs would be always be on Russian side no matter who their leader is, Tsar, Stalin, Putin. We consider them as our close relatives and orthodox brothers just like Greeks and these are the only nations in Europe who are really our truth friends and allies.

[@nenadpopov3601]

'99te su se bas pokazali koliko su nam pomogli, pegla mi se od svih vas koji vise volite Ruse od sopstvene drzave, a nisam cak ni patriota.

[@miroslavstevic2036]

@@nenadpopov3601 Šta to pričaš čoveče? 1999. se Rusija raspadala, vodio ih je pijani Jeljcin koga su Židovi doveli na vlast, kupili i držali u džepu. 70% kapitala u Rusiji su držali. Onda je došao Putin i razbio tu bandu koja još uvek kontroliše Ameriku. Ruski BDP je tada bio 190 milijardi dolara, sada je 2500. Zato i ne mogu da ga smisle. Vidiš li da ne mogu sebe da odbrane od antihrista, a kamoli nas ovde što smo kompletno okruženi sa svih strana? Šta hoćeš, da nam uvedu dugine boje u škole i crnu emigraciju? Bolje što nas nisu "branili" jer bi prošli gore nego Ukrajina.

[@marijadjuric8751]

Very rational impression. All true. The Russians are cautious because most of them don't like Putin and they know most Serbs support him. This is what I heard from Russians. Theyir self-organisation is very impressive. I like the Russians here, they always bring culture. This is not the first time Serbia experienced a Russian migration. They also came when they were escaping from the Bolsheviks. That was when the first ballet school opened in Serbia.

[@punmije]

I don’t think it is about Putin, they don’t integrate because they are here temporarily, once the war situation is changed they will flee back to Russia or move to west for sure.

[@heyday179]

how preposterous that serbs support putin. they are anti nato because they were bombed, killed and economically destroyed by nato just because they were once a successful socialist country and all industry was publically owned.

[@dzonikg]

DId you integrate in Thailand and learn their langue??

[@BelgradeBeat]

No, unfortunately I didn't and there's no plan for this. I always joke about how learning Serbian ruined Serbia for me because you get to hear all the bullshit people say and how badly they treat each other. But I'm very happy I speak Serbian. However, Thai, I'm not so interested in their culture to learn and be a part of it and if I did, I'd always still be a foreigner because of my European face. Also there's a barrier because most of the people where I live on Koh Phangan are not Thai, they're foreigners like me and Burmese workers, so it's not as easy as if I was living in an actually predominately Thai place like Chiang Mai or Bangkok. I'm happy just being a gringo there for now in my international community full of freaks like me from around the world.

[@SculptExpress-gv8jp]

But you are Serbian, right? You got honorary Serbian passport or was that another blogger?

[@dzonikg]

@@BelgradeBeat So you did the same like Russians here that you critises them. But i agree that is better in Serbia if you dont know Serbian and you dont recognise all bad words Serbs use

[@jobrock1079]

@@SculptExpress-gv8jp He is a Canadian of Czech descent.

[@milenailic1437]

@@BelgradeBeat You have to overcome your Canadian niceness in yourself and accept being totally honest (rude too) as Serbian. Sorry. It is always a love-hate game here.

[@Qweryqwerty]

I like living here in Belgrade, and would love to learn Serbian, however, it is not my priority right now, and yes I feel like an isolation due to having ru friends and colleagues

[@besovereign2032]

are you in remote IT too?

[@rogyn8484]

They come involuntarily? This is not true since they were not "forced" to go here but they saw Serbia as a cheaper option where they could get payments in Euros and lets face it avoid possible conscription. One question I asked my Russian friends but and other foreigners who are thinking that here is their life destination and wish to change their passports for Serbian trying to escape their own societies (which I totally understand from their perspective). In case that something happens in Serbia and you get our citizenship are you ready to defend Serbia or work in it no matter what or you will defect from Serbia as soon as you get possibility for this? With citizenship comes up and obligations and those obligations are related to the local culture, tradition, language and other things. Not that I wish any of that but that is also reality on the ground, most of Russians have exactly zero ideas about the issues of the local Serbian population just like when you go to Thailand you are not involved in their society being a western "digital nomad" except enjoying and paying them for renting/taxes. Since I know so many Russians I realized they are totally not aware of the country politics, local issues and how much similar things locals are facing for the stuff on which they are complaining about being bad in Russia. Some of them were shocked once they first encounter issues here from where they were running from their own country. Serbian and Russian mentalities are different in the context of social life (for corruption all South and East Europeans are very similar), this is also the fact why other foreigners are integrating faster, simply all Northern Europeans having this mentality of being suspicious, reserved at first and having a friendships only in their closed circle so for them they really need more time to open comparing to the Southern Europeans which Serbs by mentality actually are. This being said nothing negative, however be aware where you come, how the society is working, what is the local culture and do not think that you come to the fairytale because every country in Europe have their own issues that could be pretty harsh in case if you start wearing the locals shoes.

[@trudbenik]

Bukvalno, kada procitam da su "izbeglice", ja se prevrnem od smeha. Njima je prosto ovo najjeftinija opcija i boli ih uvo za probleme koje imamo ovde u Srbiji (i na Balkanu). Zbog toga nemam nameru da sa njima gradim odnose, sem transakcionih. Rus, Ukrajinac ili Papuanovagvinejac, meni isto... toliko su nam slicne i bliske kulture.

[@alexeyshishkin3753]

@@trudbenik Dude, Serbia is not cheap. Lots of russians in Serbia don't have these cushy IT jobs: waiters, kitchen workers, hairdressers - you get the idea. You're totally right, russians in Serbia are not exactly refugees. But it would be no better, if they were. They are self sufficient, respect local culture, don't play vulnerable minority and don't suck on welfare and state resources - it's a good start I think. As for `fiscal` nature of your relations with migrants - it's your right to think and do as you wish. But, you get what you looking for. No offense.

[@NNN-p8w]

Welcome back man! Great to see you again. Problem with Russians and their integration now is that they came all at once in big number. They still don't feel the need to be integrated. But, its just mater of time. There were Russians in Serbia before, and not a small number too, but they came one by one and got integrated pretty quickly. So these new ones will. Some will go back to Russia, some will go elsewhere, and some will stay. Just as it was after First world war and October Revolution. There was great number of Russians in Serbia, even some of their counts and generals are buried here.

[@milutinke]

I have a friend who works as an IT guy for the Government E-Services, he keeps up to date with statistics. He told me that there is around 280 000 Russians, 50 000 Ukrainians and around 15 000 Belarusians in Serbia, that was like the last year, now there is probably more of them. As a Serbian I very welcome them, as we are loosing 30 000 people every year due to them leaving for EU.

[@nenadpopov3601]

*losing.

[@Sandra-ud8ge]

Most of them are very strong financialy and young they come from enormous big country to Serbia so they think that they are here temporary and they think that there is no need to integrate to make big effort their children go to private international school speaking english it is simple to understand.Just let them live and work peacefully...

[@carick235]

Not all go to private international schools, i know that already many Russian children are in private/state kindergartens (depending on location, in Belgrade you can find space only in private, which are integrated in the same system with state ones) and state schools. Now its already 2 years since they came here and obviously many settled here nicely so you can't leave your kids isolated from society. My sister work in a private kindergarten as pediatrician and several older Russian children already can communicate in Serbian.

[@jobrock1079]

@@carick235 Do the Russians pay taxes? If they are using the schools, roads, etc. they should be contributing.

[@carick235]

@@jobrock1079 if they have temporary residence permit they are paying for it, if they rent the place owner of that place is paying taxes for that income (of course we know nobody pay those taxes) etc.

[@Qweryqwerty]

​@@jobrock1079 Russians pay for everything, pay for enormously increased rent, pay for the transport, pay taxes, pay every penny for everything. Who else you might guess pays for Russians, any idea?

[@CheefCoach]

@@jobrock1079 You can't buy anything without paying VAT. So taxes can't be avoided.

[@unisonrul1171]

I am 72 years old Serbian man living in Scandinavia. I am working as a cobol and java developer. I have started to study Russian a year ago. Next year I plan to visit Russia for the first time.

[@nenadpopov3601]

Amazingly irrelevant for anybody who will read this.

[@besovereign2032]

Hero.Legend. Sir. Best of luck

[@miroslavstevic2036]

@@nenadpopov3601 You speak only for yourself NATO troll.

[@JoseBoy-ve5kb]

The biggest problem is they pay too much for renting apartments. They raised rent prices pretty much 100% up. Just stop paying what these greedy landlords ask so they will cut those rates like they were before your arrival.

[@vuk87]

Я организую бесплатные уроки сербского в центре Белграда по пятницам и кроме моих уже друзей и знакомых, никто из русских не отзывается, хотя многие до самого урока спрашивают как добраться до кафе и если урок будет. Мне кажется дело не в языке, а в внутренней стороне русского человека.

[@milenailic1437]

Yes, Russians seem cold, but I guess their kids will be more shaped up to Serbian culture and some of them will integrate.

[@pedja5689]

Браво, тек си то укапирао. Треба ми да учимо Руски

[@janakolasinac1686]

​@pedja5689 ko ih hebe

[@mywellbeing985]

Так сербский можно учить самому из интернета, зачем куда то ездить постоянно??

[@mojjt]

Џабе се трудиш. Већина нису Руси. Осим тога дошли су зато што им је Србија била једна од три опције где могу да иду, Турска и Грузија им се нису свиђале.

[@Aleksandar-Srbija]

They opened up many companies and they hiked up prices of apartments, whether buying or renting.

[@nikolasirovica3250]

Prices for real estate are going up everywhere in Europe, it just so happened that Russians came to Serbia and people are blaming them for the rising prices. They would have gone up anyway. In neighboring Croatia people are complaining about how much rent and buying prices have gone up, and they had no influx of Russians in Zagreb that Belgrade had. And if you think it’s bad in Belgrade, just go to Prague where people aren’t complaining about 3,000-4,000 euros per square meter in the center, but 6,000-8,000 euros per square meter, because the entire historic downtown has been turned into an outdoor Airbnb. There’s a global phenomenon right now of inflation, and Serbia is not immune to it. And the Russians who came to Belgrade are not to blame. In Moscow and cities across Russia people are complaining about prices going up for real estate, and that’s despite the mass exodus of Russians since the war started and sanctions. Hell, even in Kyiv, prices are up, despite the country in an active war. People need to stop blaming the Russians who came for general inflation which has been going on since Covid and have nothing to do with Russians.

[@besovereign2032]

true- the Convid crisis has hit everyone equally. Prices have also gone up in Russia.

[@frostflower5555]

I prefer Serbian over Russian language. It has something that I can't explain lol.

[@BelgradeBeat]

yeah, totally. It's very expressive and full of passion.

[@besovereign2032]

I think Serbian is more organic. Russian seems a bit like Czech - like it was invented by some monks. Too stilted

[@vesnanuspahic7510]

Dobro dosao u Srbiju a sto se tice Rusa i Ukrainaca oni su dobro dosli u Srbiju bez obzira na politicko opredelenje .

[@BelgradeBeat]

I to je nesto dobro o srbije koji znaci da sribija je najbolje mesto za njih i ovoj situatciji.

[@SerbAtheist]

@@BelgradeBeat I to je nešto dobro u vezi Srbije, zbog čega je Srbija najbolje mesto za njih u ovoj situaciji.😎

[@user-db6ov7nn4x]

Yeah, all true. I am one of those russians in Belgrade.

[@nikitasviridov1792]

Hi, a Russian from Belgrade here. I must admit, that I feel a bit ashamed and guilty every time I can't speak to locals in Serbian. Because I feel like it's my responsibility to learn the language. I came to their country and I have no rights to complain about English not being spoken at a local market. So I feel guilty for not being able to speak Serbian to locals. But here's the problem. I don't feel ready to fully invest to learning a new language. I already know English pretty decently and I know a bit of Spanish, and from that experience I know one thing: to learn a language you need to be fully engaged into this process. It's not like half-hour-a-day activity. You need to dive deep into the language. Learn vocab and grammar, watch videos, read articles, listen to podcasts and speak to natives. It takes a lot of effort. And if I were sure I was gonna stay here for like 10 years, it would be worth it. But I'm not. I have no idea if I'll be in Serbia in a year or two. So I just can't justify learning Serbian for a year and then leave just at the point when I start to feel confident speaking the language.

[@miroslavstevic2036]

Nikita, only people from the left side of the IQ distribution curve expect you to learn our language in this context. Relax and focus on your work. Some people will stay, and others will leave - this has happened before, 100+ years ago, and history is repeating itself. One of my university professors escaped here in 1917. He was a genius, and we learned a great deal from him. He worked well into old age. Many Serbs have partial Russian roots, relatives, and vice versa. My wife’s relative was forcibly mobilized by the Austrians and sent to fight against Russia. He deserted, manage to convince Rus army to spare his life, spent three years in a Russian prison, married there, and always had fascinating stories to share.

[@françois-x9e]

J'ai bien voyagé , on peut parler avec ses yeux , ses mains et son coeur. Et ça va.

[@michaelmichael8494]

I'm Russian who moved not to Belgrade, but rather to a smaller town in Vojvodina. Here the situation is quite different from Belgrade or Novi Sad: there are a few dozen of us, most came with families and children, most bought some real estate. So, we're integrating pretty well, learning the language at least to some extent; socializing with neighbors and other Serbs; children are going to local schools and are basically completely integrated at this point; etc., etc. The vast majority of people, though, don't work in Serbia and have their sources of income either internationally or still in Russia. Also, the language barrier, I would say, is still pretty high. You don't need good language skills to resolve day to day problems, conduct business (especially if the other party has a financial interest), etc. Still, the Russian community here is small, it's spread very wide, and there's basically no other way than to integrate or live your life as an absolute mute loner. As for Belgrade and Novi Sad, most Russians who came to Serbia live there, of course. Out of hundreds of thousands, only about 30k have acquired residence permits. And only a portion of those will probably be aiming at permanent residence permits and citizenship. The rest mostly don't have any specific plans for their future at all, Serbia they view as a temporary hub, they're just kinda hanging on that rope atop the void, waiting for something to happen to them next. My thought on this is: those guys who left Russia in 1917 intending to wait out a few years until the reds collapsed and they could return - they had a pretty long wait. Most of them collapsed before the reds did, and the rest basically wasted the time of their lives on who-knows-what.

[@kochakocha88]

If I had to choose between 500 000 East Slavic and 50 000 Southeast Asian/Arabic/African immigrants I would gladly pick the former. And this is not coming from a Russophile or even a Slavophile.

[@NenadTrajkovic]

We were in a situation like Ukraine in the 1990s by Canada, the US and other western countries, and you are again well accepted in Serbia... what you are saying is nonsense

[@BelgradeBeat]

Yes, I feel very accepted and I'm grateful for that, what do you disagree with what I am saying?

[@srki8231]

I think you are wrong when you say that they would not like the Russians if we bordered them. We would probably be like Belarusians. Second, knowing our position and the problems we have around Kosovo, Bosnia, Albania, Croatia... It would be a blessing for us to have Russia right next to us, because we would not have any of these problems, especially with the West, because the West created this problem. You do not insert the Ukrainian Russian problem because Serbia was never Nazi like UKRAINE.

[@soniad.2993]

Bravo Srki, najgori su ovi petokolonasi. Blago Rusiji te ih se trsila.

[@nauciengleski]

A 300e flat went to 700e overnight... Other prices went up also - my gym, the sauna I used etc. I am a local and this was defeating... so that was my first impression. It seemed like Belgrade became a city for foreigners and those locals who already own realestate in Belgrade and that suddenly Serbs from other cities who lived as tenants in Belgrade were no longer welcome... Concerning Russian people - I don't mind them personally. Most of them seem to be very polite and educated people. I believe they do not integrate partly because they do not have plans to stay long-term and they might be hoping the war will end soon. Some of them anyway... Also, it was the first "wave" of Russians that were remote workers and IT guys... Last several waves were much less educated and well-off people such as plumbers, drivers, electricians and different type of contractors... I see these people looking for jobs in FB groups all the time... I can imagine that a lot of those guys only had a few paychecks worth of cash before coming here and a lot of them have kids to feed so I sympathize. All things concerned - it is what it it... I wish them well. I would have done the same if I were one of them. It's not pleasant for me but I prefer focusing on solutions than on problems...

[@besovereign2032]

Since it is happening everywhere the increase in prices cannot be about Russians

[@nauciengleski]

@@besovereign2032 you're obviously clueless

[@besovereign2032]

@@nauciengleski still the fact is prices have gone up anywhere - not denying influx of moneyed people will have an impact but it’s not the primary factor. Look at your beloved governments

[@nauciengleski]

@@besovereign2032 you are absolutely, undeniably clueless OR you do not live in Serbia... why do you speak of the matters you know absolutely nothing about? What? You feel good talking as if you know stuff? Shut up m8. Everybody in Belgrade knows what happened. The flats that were circa 300e/month went to 800e/month within a month. That is solely and specifically due to the influx of people with higher purchasing power and you like talking because you feel good when you sound like you know stuff you do not.

[@TheAlexandar711]

It's stupid. How are we Russified, please tell me? Russians here are welcomed,but not because of reasons you think. We welcomed them BECAUSE they are Russians, not because they escaped from Russia. We believe that they didn't have to escape Russia. Me, personally, think that they make a mistake, but it's not on me to tell them that. They will realise that eventually. Our task is to be friends in need.

[@DYNABLASTERTUNERS]

Ne grese, jer ovaj rat je namerno prolongiran da bi sto vise ljudi izginulo na obe strane, Putin i ceo ruski establishment radi za jevreje, skoro svaka agenda prolazi, osim LGBT i jos nekih sitnih jer to ne moze da prodje, ljudi se zrtvuju bezumno na bojnom polju umesto da je odma odradio, inace Putin je pohadjao Schwabovu skolu, to je poznata cinjenica, gledaj monaha Antonija na youtube, on najmanje gresi od svih pa ce ti pojasniti mnoge stvari o desavanjima kod nas i u svetu

[@BelgradeBeat]

Serbia is not Russified at all. It's good that it welcomes the Russians who don't feel comfortable living in Russia for whatever reason. For me leaving a country which is drafting its citizens to go off and die fighting their brother nation is never a mistake.

[@TheAlexandar711]

@@BelgradeBeat it's a matter of perspective. First of all, drafting applies ONLY to men who already served in Russian military,who was conscripted in past. It doesn't apply on civilians. Second of all, sooner or later all this, arguably,would be happened. It was unavoidable, arguably of course.

[@SerbAtheist]

'Me, personally, think that they make a mistake, but it's not on me to tell them that. They will realise that eventually' What exactly? That Serbia is the worst place on the entire planet to live in?

[@TheAlexandar711]

@@SerbAtheist Nikako . Cak mislim suprotno . Nismo najbolji ali ni najgori. Razumem razloge koje ONI misle da su ispravni ,kad su odlazili iz Rusije. Ja ,licno ,mislim da je greska jer Rusija ima bolju perspektivu vec sad,u odnosu na ostale ekonomije zapada,a kako je na Zapadu sada,u Rusiji im ni sloboda govora nebi nedostajala. Sve sto sam hteo da kazem,lose su procenili,ali nije na meni niti bilo kome od nas ovde,da im se to kaze.

[@nebo1186]

ukraine was forbidding launglage per law not Russia...

[@alexeyshishkin3753]

Russian schools paid by Serbian state. When?

[@belosevickris3379]

Welcome back! I never thought about Russians in Serbia in terms of integration. It's kind of nuts to criticize them on the grounds of non-integration, to be honest; them or Ukrainians or anyone who came here due to war. They didn't emigrate, they are refugees. So naturally they are not integrating. I always thought of them as visitors, temporarily here. If they decide to stay, or some of them do, that's great, but I assume they are just here until the war ends. I imagine most of them will move on somewhere, or go back.

[@BelgradeBeat]

Who knows... Many may find they like it better in Serbia and not want to go back. Plus, which end is in sight for this war?

[@antikarch]

@@BelgradeBeat sure! Russia is cold and lot of people move to south regions of Russia. I used to live in Sankt-Peterburg, in Yekaterinburg, Moscow, and everywhere i took care about different winter stuff - boots, clothes, car weels and so on. But i do not have to do this in Serbia - it is warm here! I even do not have winter stuff here at all. I like it. And Serbia is not overcrowded, like south russian areas! I want to live here. And even when war will be stopped, i will not return. Мaybe just for a while - to sell my flat in Sankt-Peterburg, to finalize all my deals.

[@hypatiatv421]

Ooooo WELCOME home Mr Beat. LONG LIFE to RUSSIANS in Serbia, we do not care for apartment prices. Russians will always be welcomed in Serbia. The msot of Russians are concentrated in Novi Sad, not Blegrade. Novi Sad, Subotica AND Belgrade on 3rd place.

[@BelgradeBeat]

Are there Russian businesses popping up in Novi Sad too?

[@hypatiatv421]

@@BelgradeBeat Yep, in both cities. But, is a still small amount, maybe 5 000 - 8 000 in Belgrade(Belgrade is 6 times biger then NS) and couple thousands in Novi Sad and Subotica. In Niš and Kragujevac, there are almost no Russians. Small number exists in Kralejvo and thats it. The most of them are concentrated in area Between BG and NS, and around Subotica + small number in Zrenjanin.

[@hypatiatv421]

@@BelgradeBeat Btw, i am happy to see you in Serbia, WELCOME home!!! compade.

[@boxing.-jr9up]

No, you are not telling the truth! I've already noticed you are telling lies and deliberately spreading fake news about Belgrade. And about Serbia. You are not from Belgrade, neither from Serbia, and you should stop minding our businesses, and focus on your own village where you come from, and your own country, in order to make it a better place. You are completely illiterate, you are not educated, and you don't mean well to anyone. Most Russians in Serbia, actually, live in Belgrade. Check the numbers and official statistics by authorities properly. No one needs your cheap recommendation, since gatherings like beer fest, Guca and Exit are the only events you have ever heard of. Russians living in the city of Belgrade are not poor, they don't ride a bike or sit in the park nursing children or feeding the pigeons. All of that, though, might do for old retired people who live slow life in small places, and those who can't afford living in Belgrade. All of the Russians I have met in Belgrade are smart, highly educated and successful, almost all of them are entrepreneurs, they run their own businesses. So, really, your silly and tacky piece of advice on any subject matter is not necessary to anyone. Just because you know nothing of Belgrade's architecture, doesn't mean that the architecture in the capital of Serbia doesn't even exist!

[@rafajela]

O, we do care about prices. Don't lie.

[@CrazyRussianSergey]

Wow! Great analysys! I would also add that I felt like the Russians who just arrived to Serbia maybe a bit carefull talking to people first days because those Russians are mostly anti-government, and in opposite the Russian government is quite popular in Serbia as you said about the idealization of Russia. But then with time you understand that 99% of the time you won't even touch the politics and Serbians will be just happy that you are Russian. Also many Russian integrate I've met the Russian-Serbian football teams. They play with and against each other every week and other examples. Just as you said it's not like going on vacation to Thailand for these people, most of them didn't plan to change their life like that. And just in general the Russians are more cold people than Serbs. And about the service you are right. The food I ate in Serbia was the best quality, but the service is really slow and it's not even the POLAKO thing. Like on a busy evening in a bar there can be just one waiter and he/she would work like crazy and you''ll wait for a beer for 20 minutes. So just maybe in a busy day more waiters would be good and the waiter can relax not work for 3 people. But Russians can learn from Serbians a lot like Serbians and Yugo in general built more comfortable commie blocks for example hehe. Like your style. Not just praising everything like nowadays youtubers in Russia (well, they don't wanna end up in jail haha). More interesting when there is something to discuss.

[@BelgradeBeat]

This comment is full of great info! Thanks.

[@heyday179]

i don't understand how anyone can be so confused about something so simple. serbs are no pro russian government, they are anti nato because nato decimated their once country which is now polluted by the aftermath of bombing with depleted uranium, destroyed their air and water, their healthcare, their economy. utter decimation.

[@balefito]

Yes Belgrade needs a really good shakeup! I like your take on these things. And it's coming from me a Serbian expat now living your home town. All the best also to my Russian and all other expats now living in my home town. Keep us proud all proud and free as Belgraders used to be.

[@viennavibez4662]

ukraine was forbidding launglage per law not russia...

[@user-db6ov7nn4x]

bot

[@viennavibez4662]

@@user-db6ov7nn4x says the bot profile 😂

[@milenacacak3957]

About 200 years ago Serbian was much more similar to Russuian, our language reform actually set us appart from Russian and many of us feel sorry about that

[@marconiki6302]

You have no idea, what is going on

[@BelgradeBeat]

Specifically what don't I know?

[@yudzin88]

@@BelgradeBeat Western governments provoked Russia to start the war in Ukraine. West wanted this war so bad, it is clear that they are not giving up! To say that Russian government is the only one who is guilty for this war is simply the utter ignorance of geopolitics. Ukrainians are just scapegoats unfortunately. Their country will be destroyed, it is very sad. If you really want to research this start with the channels like the Duran or The New Atlas and not some propaganda BS. I am not saying that Russia is completely innocent, just that they are not the only one who is guilty, it takes two for tango!

[@didi_mega_dudu]

good that you trimmed your mustache, it is much more pleasant to look at your videos now

[@BelgradeBeat]

hahahah yeah I know.

[@cliffm6566]

Many Russians will return to Moscow or St Petersburg when this Ukrainian situation is finished, which could be this year, hopefully. Russians and Serbians are historic allies.

[@TallTravels]

They have been steadily returning to Russia for some time now.

[@Seri0usStas]

Fun fact: your video about Belgrade girls was the first one I watched when I was researching possibility of relocation to Serbia. Still not there, but we're planning to! BTW we've never been to Pangan, but Samui is our one love!

[@TallTravels]

Here in Russian many Russians have been steadily returning to their country for some time. Although I love Russia there are often times when I yearn for the motherland 😁. It's a shame the flight frequency between the two countries has reduced and prices greatly increased.

[@annerne2299]

It would be very easy for the Russians to learn Serbian . I studied Russian in America at the university and found it quite easy . If they want to stay they need to integrate , they have been welcomed now they need to appreciate the Serbian hospitality.

[@glicmathan1771]

Excellent observations! I was just in Serbia and Montenegro and met so many great people including many Russians. I made friends with enough locals, including “visiting” Russians, to hear many perspectives. I heard very few negative comments from anyone. One Serb bartender said he didn’t like some Russians assuming everyone there speaks Russian. One Russian friend in Belgrade is taking Serbian classes and wants to remain there. All the locals I met were sympathetic to the Russians despite the cost of living increases. I heard several locals say that once the war is over, many Russians will want to return to Russia, which would ease the war-related inflation. That has me thinking sentiments could change either positively or negatively in the future depending how long it will take for a peace agreement. As far as I know, Russians are only issued temporary visas and need to leave and return periodically. So the government does not appear to be encouraging permanent residency and citizenship. I stayed in Savamala btw. Great area! I look forward to more of your perspectives 🙏

[@Sichko021]

The vast majority of Serbs love Russians and consider them brothers. As far as I know, most of the Russians who came to Serbia are software developers or something from the IT sector. They came for easier work because of the sanctions against Russia.

[@gr-gx4zy]

Hey man, it's great to see you uploading again! I get the sense that maybe you're not enjoying Serbia as much as before, but I could be wrong. Regardless, I hope you're having an awesome time wherever you are. Cheers brate!

[@BelgradeBeat]

See the last video from May 2023... My perspective is explained there. I still enjoy it very much but reached a wall in my personal development here.

[@milenailic1437]

Nah, Russians will never change the way Serbians doing things , but they will accept ours. I have seen their youtube videos and they seems to like it that way more, they have even learned the word "polako", which means SLOWLY! 😁

[@writer684]

They can't integreate that quickly and I have read that most want to move back when the war is over ....bur I suspecet most will stay once the kids starts school etc.

[@rrajan5476]

Those who left wont go back

[@KeekeOrb]

Its kind of ironic, you commenting on 🇷🇺 , considering treatment od Indigenous peoples in 🇨🇦 🤔👀🙄

[@BelgradeBeat]

What does that have to do with me? 75% of my ancestors were living in the Austro-Hungarian and Russian Empires when that happened. Yes, I'm 25% proper Canadian from my mother's mother. I'm also 25% Ukrainian, of a family who were loyal to the Russian Czar and left in 1914. On my father's side, I'm the first person in my family born in Canada after my family immigrated in 1951 after leaving becoming refugees due to oppression against ethnic Germans in communist Czechoslovakia. It's more historically accurate for you to blame me for stuff around here than in Canada, but still both have nothing to do with me personally and I do my best to understand all perspectives of all nations. In this video, I'm merely trying to understands the perspectives of Russians who have decided to leave Russia and the Serbs who are now hosting them.

[@KeekeOrb]

@@BelgradeBeat people who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones 🤷‍♀️ No one is blaming you personally for anything, it just that you behave as a typical 🇨🇦, and so confidently blabbering your opinions about stuff you don't really understand. I know you like to think you are not a typical 🇨🇦, but you so are...

[@KeekeOrb]

@@BelgradeBeat nobody blames you personally but...people who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones 🤷‍♀️

[@wudzah]

Half the country russified? You don't know what you are talking about. Really disappointed. Good luck in Thailand.

[@franzjosef7728]

No, it is that you are a putinoid, like 80% of Serbs.

[@jobrock1079]

@@franzjosef7728 So invite this dude to your country. Serbia doesn't need people like him at all.

[@romandrozdov9284]

The same in Bulgaria where I am. Some russians live here more than 15 years and don't speak bulgarian language

[@dankadesign7462]

I think its too early secondly most of them thinking its only temporary .There is mentality difference as well.SERBIA needs gov shake up but then many other countries too.The most important is that you feel welcomed in another country.I am more traditional -I dont like this mambo jumbo of globalization .lets each nation to stay to their own unique values.Tnxs for sharing ur thoughts

[@louparedes9310]

I've been to Belgrade twice and spend three weeks each time, most young Serbians speak very good English. I learned a bit of Serbian so I was able to carry a basic conversation. As most countries began to take in immigrants with similar cultures the better off they are, if the immigrants fail to assimilate that's when chaos begins. When in Serbia, do as the Serbians do.

[@geraldjones3328]

bro are you gonna close your channel now that your gonna live in thailand?

[@boci11]

Hey Belgrade Beat ever thought about moving back to Canadistan ?? 🤪

[@STEVEANDTHESTORIES]

You have no idea what you're talking about when it comes to Ukraine and Russia .Educate yourself so you don't sound like a fool!

[@BelgradeBeat]

What specifically do you disagree with? I've done lots of research and I don't agree with either side, it's an unfortunate situation that goes way bigger than just Ukraine and unfortunately Russian and Ukrainian young men are dying because of this.

[@dankadesign7462]

Pls be specific-why is such tone?We can all have diferent opinions on current situation but we need to stay respectful to others. I dont agree on something he said but then thats his opinion -i respect that!

[@stylistxxx]

Ejj nek mu Seselj i ti objasne ((:

[@stylistxxx]

A sta di ti kazem kazu Kruscov dao Krim bio pijan pa onda Jeltsin ono otisla Ukraina nezavisna ponovo Jeltsin bio pijan a evo to Putko sad vraca .... e moj Srbo cobane you sounding really fool

[@jobrock1079]

@@stylistxxx Seselj made some good points. And what he is ignoring is that Ukraine was attacking and killing the Donbass people since 2014. They didn't implement any of the Minsk deals, and later Macron and Merkel admitted that Minsk was used just to buy time for the Ukrainian forces. The U.S. was building them up the whole time and preparing them for a blitzkrieg ethnic cleansing. But in the meantime, Ukrainians cut of Crimea's water supply and also parts of the Donbass. Ukraine's government was overthrown in 2014 by a western backed coup which chased out Ukraine's elected president. After that Ukrainians burned scores of people alive in the government building in Odessa. Those trying to leave were beaten or shot. The videos show Ukrainian women smiling as they prepared Molotov cocktails to throw at the building. Ukrainian officials have openly said they want to purge the Donbass. And in January 2022 Ukraine started more intensely shelling the Donbass and even the OSCE was reporting on it. This continued in February. Ukraine was planning and "Operation Storm" type of cleansing in early March 2022. So Russia jumped in as Ukraine was poised to do that. US also send Ukraine chemical weapons of mass murder in December 2021, so Ukraine was definitely preparing something big. Pentagon had dozens of gain-of-function germ warfare laboratories in Ukraine, including several around Russia's border. They were particularly interested in diseases spread by migratory birds, insects, etc. between Ukraine and Russia. US has a long history of gain of function research and many say that Lyme's disease, which is spread by ticks, was created by US military.

[@nenadstefanovic779]

Serbia will become Info-Swiss. We have: Russian, Chinese, Japanese, U.S. German, Hindu, Arab, Jewish and a bit more ethnic groups here. I hope this will make Serbians finally closer and we will finally be West to the East, East to the West, North to the South and South to the North. An Inn at the crossroads and not battlefield as b4

[@jobrock1079]

Many of those you mention cause problems and have no loyalty to Serbia.

[@besovereign2032]

Ironically I met a Russian doing remote IT work in ... Bangkok. And yes, she had her very small bubble. I am amazed I even met her given the fact I am not Russian. But that is a genuinely cosmopolitan city and the condos mean people stay within it or at least drive in every day. I do wonder about (Old town) Belgrade- I am not sure what it is supposed to be, A tourist attraction? There seem to be a lot of poor people struggling with the higher cost of living (everywhere) who look like they want to be elsewhere. You have the young middle classes who of course are the happiest and most insufferable. Everyone I speak to says there are no jobs here you have to work remotely from a richer country to live here. Ok, so why not live in one of the other major Serbian cities? I liked the more relaxed vibe of Nis or Novi Sad if you just want to sit in front of your computer and go out for a coffee now and then. In any case, the immediate surroundings of where you live and shop are what matters. Then I see the community spirit and the strength of the place.

[@StepansOdyssey]

0:18 it was me! That Russian guy, in a black shirt :) Nice video, thanks for sharing your opinion. I’m totally agree with you. We’re not integrated, and I think it’s not only because imperialistic point of view. But it’s a very important point. More because we’re know how build life in that small bubble community. That actually how we live in Russia, when society is atomized and you have a lot of propaganda.

[@besovereign2032]

yes

[@MakiSu-ny27i]

I think that our love for Russia is fake because it is more about Serbian spite and opposition to the Western policy towards Serbia from 1991 to 2000. I know that every Pole, Serb, Slovak or Croat loves Yesenin, Dostoyevsky, but that has nothing to do with the Russian regime of fear and Russian fascist politics. The problem is that America is doing the same. But believe me, none of us have that much love for Russia or the Russian way of life. I even noticed that Serbs do not like the Russian way of life, self-isolation, they are cold as a people, they do not learn the Serbian language or socialize with Serbs, and this is very difficult for friendly, open and pleasant Serbs. accept. They do not understand how long Russia lived in fear and isolation and that has never changed until today.

[@boriscindric5890]

Great that you find the way back home !

[@Shisiwhsjjs]

SERBIA❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@MrUbiparip]

Serbian people would appreciate these Russians to be like their ancestors that helped build and shape modern cities of Serbia. Just look at the last names of some prominent Serbs nowadays, lots are descendants of the white army officers and soldiers as they left westwards under pressure of the red army. Serbian government is the last government in Europe to recognize Soviet Union as a country. Generally Serbs don't like Putin and his oligarchy for who they are and what they stand for, however for some wounds are still very fresh from the 90's and NATO taking sides of the Serbian enemies in the 90's. If Russians want to stay in Serbia for a long time, they would need to speak the language and integrate. How, step by step.

[@dejanhuskic7102]

About Russians in Serbia I don't have against them, and also same for other forigners who respect Serbian laws, population, and state, no matter if they stay for few days or for a longer period. Also that should Serbians act when they go outside Serbia, and luckely majority do. Now about Russians majority of them didn't know anything about Serbia, and majority will try to get visas for the West, the procedure is longer and difficult but it's not entirely closed. But I agree only time will tell.

[@marcoyankovich]

What made you come back to Serbia?

[@BelgradeBeat]

Friends, my apartment in Belgrade and my house in Sumadija.

[@janakolasinac1686]

​@@BelgradeBeatare you renting your appartment to Russians? 😆

[@magicneveceridragoljubjovi9544]

У мањим местима ће се сви интегрисати,који дођу са стране а у Београду се ни сами Београђани нису интегрисали, јер је велики град отуђен град, као и сви велики градови.

[@tanjaosilic6641]

Ja sam iz Sarajeva i pobjegla sam u Italiju i naucila jezim za dva mjeseca. Cini mi se normalno. I am from Saranevo and I go in Itali and learn italian in two mants. Io sono dal Saranevo e sono scapata a Italia e ho imparato italiano in due mesi.

[@ilijabrasic4999]

Russians don't care about us but I have experience with Russians in the west yet Serbians don't have experience with them.

[@BelgradeBeat]

Examples please.

[@ilijabrasic4999]

@BelgradeBeat a russian girl that goes to the same church as me rejected me for rich athiest guys, she ended up dating 7 guys and then reverted back to good church guys and married a orthodox Christian in the end. It's sad she had to learn from experience that culture is more important then financial security. Anyway shes not my problem anymore. But I will always remember russian only care about money

[@ilijabrasic4999]

@BelgradeBeat I appreciate you 🙏 support Serbians we are good people and deserve way more then given

[@ilijabrasic4999]

@BelgradeBeat hello from Australia BTW 🇦🇺

[@jobrock1079]

@@ilijabrasic4999 Is it a Serbian Orthodox church? Are you unattractive or just poor and that's why she rejected you? Have you found a girlfriend or wife since then?

[@hypatiatv421]

Finding a work in Serbia is not a hard job, i do not know source of your constataions that people in UK can easier find a job then people in Serbia. Especially Russians in Serbia.

[@ivangoran4461]

Just to clarify some things, having Russian or Serbian passport does not make one Russian or Serbian. Neo-liberals have no nation they belong to. Talking about war as if it begun in 2022. is so wrong. It`s more appropriate to say that the war in Ukraine begun in 1991. Yugoslavia. But sure Ukraine lost its sovereignty in 2014. US led coup, when Nazis started bombing civilians in Donbas and when they burned 48 civilians in Odessa. The difference about Ukrainians and Serbians towards Russians should be clear with one of my earliest memory: when I watched a partisan movie and didn`t know what the partisans were saying, my mom explained to me that there are people like we are, who are called Russians, and that we Serbs exist thanx to them. Later I heard stories about Russians from my grandpa, and my great grandpa who walked through Albania at 17 and later was chasing Germans to Wien. An old Serbian saying: God in the Heaven - Russia on Earth.

[@Grue3]

Sorry Russia won't help you anymore, it's donezo. Putin is a moron who sent 500000 men to their death, ruined the economy for decades, and decimated the army. There's no coming back from this. All Russians in Belgrade hate him. Even in the recent (rigged) elections he only got 10% of vote among Serbia expats. Imagine sucking so hard you can't win elections in Belgrade, the capital of putinophiles. That's how bad he lost the plot. You won't ever get Kosovo back because you bet on the wrong horse, that's how it goes. Reminder that Ukraine was helping you in 1999 unlike Russia, literal future Azov batallion members were fighting on Serbia's side. And how did you repay this when Russia decided to start a genocidal war against Ukraine? You should be ashamed.

[@boxing.-jr9up]

​@@Grue3 Calm down. No one is here pro et contra. You are exaggerating the whole situation. Serbia wholeheartedly accepted all of the refugees, both from Russia and Ukraine. Regardless of their political views or opinions.Officially, Serbian government supports the sovereignty of Ukraine. Serbia, actually, is the only country in Europe that doesn't discriminate anyone. Everyone is welcomed in Serbia. No suspended air flights! Serbian government and the people of Serbia have sent humanitarian aid to both Ukraine, and Russia. Intended for ordinary people of both countries. The help was organized through Serbian Orthodox Church officials. Why?! Because we know that ordinary people would suffer most, badly affected by sanctions in their everyday life. Because the people of Serbia already experienced sanctions themselves! The horrible economic sanctions that the fake "democratic" countries imposed to you, as means of torture and totally undemocratic oppression. It is not in the nature of the people of Serbia to be rasist, and chauvinist. Serbs never supported Hitler! On the contrary, Serbs have always been fighting for a free world. The freedom is virtuous ideal to Serbs. Not everything is for sale. Or everyone.

[@user-db6ov7nn4x]

clown

[@SculptExpress-gv8jp]

Serbia did support Hitler. Maybe you are not familiar with the works of Nedic, Mihajlovic and that creepy ortodox priest Velimirovic. Serbia still supports Hitler because those guys were rehabilitated by the parliament. Belgrade proclaimed itself the first Jew free city in Europe and the first anti-semitic art expo was in Belgrade, among other things…

[@jobrock1079]

@@SculptExpress-gv8jp You push propaganda. Serbs cooperated with the German occupation only to prevent Serbs from being killed. They didn't operate torture or death camps, and that priest was held in a concentration camp in Germany. It was German occupied Belgrade which declared itself Jew-free. Yet Jews were on Germany's and Austria's side in WWI, and before that Jewish journalists were known for pushing lies and hate against Serbia. The famous British writer, Rebecca West, said Jews were notoriously known as "Revolver Journalists" for a long time before WWI, and were constantly lying about Serbs. Then you had the Jews in Tito's government who were murdering Serbs even after WWII.

[@MrMatoree]

I have a few russian friends who came here in the past few years. they are all in IT and dont support the current russian politics. I, on the other hand do support the aforementioned but we have no problems talking about it and disagreeing on many points but we still respect each other and hang out all the time!

[@antipolitika4552]

Another thought-provoking video, thanks! My only point of disagreement is your simplified view of Ukrainian history, I'd compare Serbia and Poland. Had our experience been more like theirs, we'd hate Russia too :-) "These are my people", I absolutely love that.

[@zoranmitrovicc]

Dobar video. Mislim da i zbog srpske autoritarne politike rusi ne žele da se asimiluju. Pobegli od jednog i došli u sličan sistem.

[@SerbAtheist]

Ma kakva crna autoritarna politika. Kad će opozicija već jednom da pogleda istini u oči da to što narod ne glasa za njih nema nikakve crne veze sa 'autoritarnošću' i sve sa politikom koju vode i zastupaju? Pa i sam Milošević i na vrhuncu svoje represije je morao da se nosi sa mnogo većom i jačom opozicijom i da pravi koalicione vlade samo da bi preživeo.

[@aleksandarjankovic39]

They are totally different from us for sure and what I see most of them is arrogant.

[@besovereign2032]

Young Serbian women can also be very arrogant

[@aleksandarjankovic39]

@@besovereign2032 I write about people, not womens. They are here for two years and avoid to learn serbians and some of them refuse to speak english, they think we all know russian likes we are their slaves.

[@besovereign2032]

@@aleksandarjankovic39 I am not sure its personal. I think it is the way they are with everyone.

[@aleksandarjankovic39]

@@besovereign2032 exactly and it's arrogance. I have clients from west and all who live here learn serbian. It's mentality for sure.

[@besovereign2032]

@@aleksandarjankovic39 while I am here I speak Serbian as much as I can. I respect the country spirally because of its stance in the SMO. Russians are what they are like Americans really - it’s a big place

[@françois-x9e]

J'en ai connu des serbes en prison ; des mecs solides ,capables d'envoyer vingt arabes à l'hopital, seul !Le russe c'est différent , ça boit trop.

[@viking4476]

Greetings. Belgrade and Serbia is interesting, but controversial. About half of nation think it's a great place to live. Other half think it's a miserable and poor. Because of that emigration rate is very high, especially in West.

[@BelgradeBeat]

It's both and it depends on how you live. If you want a western middle class life where following instructions of how to live you a decent life gets you that, it's not the place. If you think like an entrepreneur, like I do, it is a great place. Unfortunately 90% of people just want to follow instructions on how to live and Serbia fails them.

[@jobrock1079]

@@BelgradeBeat That's what decades of communist/socialism did, and then living under sanctions, demonization and bombs, then having puppet sell-out governments installed by the west.

[@besovereign2032]

@@BelgradeBeat very good point. That is the German way I have seen. It depends like everywhere if you specifically can make something of the place. You did. Some will be able to others not. It probably has only a small percentage to do with the city itself.

[@DDtch6669]

They have pretty much the same problem like any other qualified "refugees" here in Sweden we have many Indian programmers who never integrate because they don't really need to. Nothing specific to Russians.

[@georgepapa2950]

Welcome and lets hope you will have a meet up again in the park to chat :)

[@BelgradeBeat]

Probably in August or September!

[@lxfactory7237]

Samo nađu devojku ili dečka iz Srbije i ima da se integrišu veoma brzo. Provereno!

[@boriscindric5890]

They will - they have hard times - if they love us theyĺl integrate !

[@didi_mega_dudu]

how are you a native english speaker with that accent? it's not even dutch sounding as you claim, you sound like you're czech or slovak

[@BelgradeBeat]

Not dutch,. I'm predominately German from Slovakia (and also 1/4 Ukrainian and 1/4 from the British Isles), my father's family left Slovakia because of Russian communism. I grew up in Canada speaking English with my family from Slovakia and speak German very badly but retain many features from their self-expression. It's not uncommon for people to speak German with me after hearing how I speak in English. I lived mostly in Serbia since 2008 again mostly speaking English. I sometimes sound more Canadian and can force it if I tighten my mouth, but this is how I naturally speak and I'm happy with the way it embraces my German and Slavic roots and the expression of myself. I don't believe that a world citizen needs to speak like the people do where they were born. One has to find their own authentic way of being who they are in the world and expressing their identity.

[@jobrock1079]

@@BelgradeBeat It was the Soviets who forced communism on the Russians, and not the other way around. The leaders were mostly non-Russian, and it was the west which financed the Russian Revolution and forced Russian under communism. Russians were massacred and they were forced under atheism. They weren't in control. Lenin wasn't ethnic Russian, Stalin was Georgian and Khrushchev was Ukrainian. The west also harbored the communists and propagandists before the Russian Revolution. Trotsky, Lenin and others were in Switzerland, Germany, etc. Trotsky was feted in the U.S. for months before the Russian Revolution. He was likely being trained. Communism came from western Europe. Karl Marx was a German Jew educated in the UK. Germany and Wall Street financed the communism takeover over Russia. It was done to weaken Russia (which was booming economically before WWI) or some kind of experiment.

[@heyheyhophop]

Nice video quality there :)

[@coyotesimplelife2366]

2,rusians,are,same,as,a,serbians,you,shuld,now,it,before,moving,in.

[@nemokenash]

The opinion of a Serb living in Belgrade. Serbs generally love Russians because the Russians have supported us in difficult moments throughout history but also in the present time, and when I say that the Russians have supported us, I do not mean the Russian people because the vast majority did not even know about Serbia before the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine, especially the younger ones. I mean the government of Russia. Serbia is one of the few countries that welcomed Russians with pleasure, thanks to the work of Russian government. What we don't like is the arrival of Russians who are against their government, the same one we support, use our hospitality, which exists only because of the work of the Russian government, and constantly complain about how we support Putin, make protests, etc. We absolutely do not need that and it is very irritating to us. We believe that men who leave their country, which is at war, are cowards, so the least we need to do is listen to their opinion.

[@zoranskrbic-w6v]

mnogi rusi su pobegulje od rata, i vise vole ameriku od rusije.

[@argavenharge9704]

And im ok with that.But i see whats happening,just as you said- three years,Serbian passport,going to West.But listen to me...I worked there many years in several countries.With this mentality,you will be lost.You changed country,you cant be Russian wherever you go.You must except part of culture of country where your living.Its a law of survival.

[@_Epsilon_]

Were Baltic states, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan "russified"? Nope. Some might know Russian but as a second language. Their own languages were strong and well developed. Ukraine never had a strong state before, they were part of someone and at the time they spoke surzhik, it wasn't Ukrainian, it was a mix of everything and of course when you move to a city you learn and study in a more mature developed language. Since surzhik was basically a dialect it naturally lost to a real language. Not to mention South-East of the current Ukraine isn't really historical Ukraine, and these cities were never Ukrainian speaking. During USSR they started promoting and developing Ukrainian language systemizing it etc and yes even doing Ukrainization especially in the early USSR. Now Ukraine being predominantely Russian speaking (~80%) closed Russian schools, the process accelerated after 2014 "revolution of dignity". I think Ukraine is the only country in the world where the language of majority is not even official and kinda banned (you can be fined for using it in certaine cases especially if someome complaines about it). That's one hell of a dignity.

[@Djdorcol]

Russians are welcome here. And yes, they will add to Serbian society. As for your comments "Russia is big because it has imperial mindset", wrong, they are from Siberia where no one lives, just like tiny Denmark rules great Greenland. Also, Russian language is native in what communists call "Ukraine", Russian land stolen by the west.

[@aleksandarradovanovic9170]

Nema izgovora...u MOJOJ DRŽAVI ima da govorite MOJIM jezikom....ako vam ne odgovara...SLOBODNO ODLAZITE ODAVDE

[@BelgradeBeat]

Na primer, Vojvodina ima 6 sluzbenih jezika. Srbija je uvek bila tolerantna multikulturalna drzava.

[@françois-x9e]

Mais vous pouvez etres les deux ; mais ne devenez jamais américains. Nous sommes européens.

[@stereomtl9001]

3 mins in the ignorance is astounding

[@BelgradeBeat]

What do you disagree with?

[@stylistxxx]

Cuti Staljinisto

[@jobrock1079]

@@stylistxxx Stalinists were the ones which took Russian land and then added it to the Ukraine.

[@Mattinukraine]

@@jobrock1079That is like saying Ireland does not exist because England owned it for most of its history. There are over 150+ different ethnic groups in Russia, or do none of them exist in your opinion and Russia is just all Russians?

[@anastasijajelic3298]

I love your videos, but in this one you mixed "babe i zabe"....or how you would say apples and oranges. Better let the topic you obviously don't know much about it.....

[@Christlichereaktion]

You gay???

[@stiivii]

I like your videos but the part about the Serbian and Russian language is wrong. Russia isn’t new to Serbia, we know their culture and history. A lot of Serbians visit Russia every year. So I think i can say that Serbians throughout history have build a connection to Russia and they have a clear picture of that country. It’s more the western countries that try to force us to think and behave in a certain way. Russia never forced us to change our sight nor to give up our freedoms. They rather saved our asses in different wars.

[@BelgradeBeat]

Yes, I know they're a historical friend to Serbia, that's all well and good, but if you look a bit into Ukrainian history you might understand that Ukraine might not feel the same, due to what they suffered during the soviet times and the divisions it left in their country which lead to the current situation, for example and if Serbia shared borders with Russia, the country might have suffered the same stuff.

[@jobrock1079]

@@BelgradeBeat Ukrainians were on the Nazi side in WWII, and they also killed the Polish in that war.

[@franzjosef7728]

Serbs don't like the Russian culture - which they know next to nothing about. They love the violent putinist ideology of despotism and unrestricted war.

[@demiaxify]

Russians are welcome to come to Serbia. You are our brothers in religion and we are sloves. We have lots in common.

[@coyotesimplelife2366]

You,gona,wotching,scott,riter,or,doglas,mecgregor,my,friend

[@neighbourninja]

Here's a little food for thought: Serbs do not forget who they are. Russian hegemony over Serbia would not be needed if we became part of their federation. We are two countries from same people. Kind of like British and Americans. To keep it short, due to historical foreign influences, our languages were changed. And languages are fluid naturally, so they change. Russian language was in school curriculums until 90's. Now it's Western languages. Ukraine was influenced beyond recognition and, even worse, estranged from their own culture. So you cannot compare Serbia and Ukraine. I wish all Russians well and may they adapt to Serbia the best they can. It won't be easy but it's possible taking everything into account.

[@franzjosef7728]

Serbs don't like the Russian culture - which they know next to nothing about. They love the violent putinist ideology of despotism and unrestricted war.

[@soniad.2993]

Russia russified Serbian language??? What a plonker. Everybody loves Russia in Serbia, we wouldn't exist without it. Get lost.

[@janakolasinac1686]

Oooo Belgrade beat, welcome again. Enjoy in Šumadija ❤

[@Sazzvakana]

Brate ovaj još uvek špija po gradu???😮 ...ozbiljan psiho. Nadam se da ga službe drže na oku.

[@Aleksandar-Srbija]

Ma daj.

[@milansavic2803]

If, If, If...

[@annatn5502]

A jesi li ti progovorio srpski posle toliko godina?

[@BelgradeBeat]

Da, jesam.

[@sandeepchakraborty9899]

Erik, I have been trying to contact you..I wrote you an email, on an email id I found from supportadventures. If you are using another email please do share.. I would love to connect with you in Thailand..

[@BelgradeBeat]

[e-mail]

[@zoranpantelic503]

neka Rusa, dobri su! daj boze sto vise da ih ostane...