Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said that Russia needs to "return pessimists" to the country. According to him, this is the main KPI of Russia's economic development.
“KPI is a task for pessimists to return,” Siluanov said at a session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. The same was repeated by Maxim Oreshkin, aide to the President of the Russian Federation, according to whom, “already half” of those who left had allegedly returned to Russia.
“Almost half of those who left in the fall have already returned. The broad optimism of the population is important. Population optimism levels at record highs. It is important that this trend does not reverse," Maxim Oreshkin added.
The exact number of Russians who emigrated is not known for certain. However, even according to FSB estimates , in 2022, 446,574 citizens of the Russian Federation entered Kyrgyzstan alone. The peak of emigration falls on the third quarter of the year - immediately after the announcement of the so-called "partial mobilization".