ISTANBUL (Dispatches) -- The number of Russians living in Turkey has fallen sharply over the past two years, nearly halving from 154,000 in 2023 to about 85,000 in 2025, according to figures cited by the Russian Embassy in Ankara and reported by the pro-Kremlin newspaper Izvestia.
Once a favored destination for Russians, Turkey is now witnessing a steady outflow. Rising inflation — currently hovering around 33% — and a more than 30% increase in housing prices over the past year have contributed to a growing sense of unease among Russian expatriates.
But financial strain is only part of the picture. Many long-term Russian residents, including those who have lived in Turkey for up to a decade, are now reportedly being denied renewal of their residence permits, despite property ownership or legal presence, Izvestia reported.
“Living without a residence permit means becoming an undocumented immigrant. Not everyone is ready for that,” Irina Nepluyeva, an Istanbul resident, told the paper. She noted that friends in Istanbul, Antalya and Alanya — cities popular with Russian migrants — are being pushed out.
Turkish authorities have introduced a series of new restrictions over the past year. Some districts have been closed to foreign property transactions, taxes on foreigners have increased, and immigration enforcement has grown more stringent. In August 2024, Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya announced that short-term residence permits for tourists would no longer be issued.
Beyond economic and legal pressures, some Russians also cite deteriorating public services, long hospital wait times, littered streets, and lax enforcement of smoking bans as reasons for leaving.
While some are returning to Russia, others are moving on to destinations such as Serbia, Portugal, Spain, or Georgia.
The exodus from Russia since the Ukraine war began is estimated to be the country’s largest since the 1920s. Some estimates suggest the total number of Russians who have emigrated since 2022 may exceed one million.