Georgia tightened border controls for incoming Russians a few weeks ago.
Russians began to be denied entry en masse to the territory of Georgia, which became one of the most popular destinations for migrants from the aggressor country after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
According to Yehor Kuroptev, director of the Free Russia Foundation in the South Caucasus, Georgia tightened border controls for incoming Russians a few weeks ago. If earlier the number of refusals to cross the border was small, now, according to the Free Russia Foundation, several dozen Russians are deployed at the border per day.
“Neither the profession, nor the fact of living in Georgia, nor the existence of a housing rental contract matter. If there is no residence document, GNP, then no other documents are a guarantee of entry to Georgia for Russian citizens,” says Kuroptev.
At the same time, he clarified that among those who have been denied entry recently are activists, journalists, and lawyers who live in Georgia or traveled to the country from Russia due to security threats.
The publication also notes that those who travel to Georgia from Turkey by motor vehicle also face refusals to enter. At the end of August, the Consulate General of Russia in the Turkish city of Trabzon reported that such cases began to be recorded almost every day. In particular, residents of the North Caucasus Federal District and occupied Crimea with Russian passports faced refusals.
As reported by the DIP, it became known earlier that the four member states of the European Union bordering Russia – Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, and Poland – will close entry for citizens of the Russian Federation with Schengen visas from September 19, 2022.