Personal money transfers from Russia to Armenia increased 3.7 times in May of this year over the same period last year, reaching US$226 million according to Central bank of Armenia data.

Economists point to the recent arrival of Russians to Armenia as the reason, and not remittances of Armenian seasonal workers. Recent Russian arrivals are the recipients of most of the transferred funds.

 Overall, foreign money transfers to Armenia in May amounted to $412 million, a monthly record,

In the first five months of this year, transfers from abroad to Armenia amounted to $1.272 billion, of which $679 million came from Russia, $257 million from the United States, and $336 million from other countries.

Economist Karlen Khachatryan says there are no grounds for such an increase in money flowing from Russia by seasonal workers. Meanwhile, it is obvious that some of the Russians who came to Armenia following the Russian-Ukrainian war are moving their capital here.

"If we look at the statistics of companies opened in Armenia in April-May, we see that the number has increased significantly after the arrival of the Russians. Some of them try to avoid the impact of American and European sanctions and move their capital here," he notes.

In addition to business purposes, Russians spend money in Armenia for recreation, entertainment, house rent and other purposes. As a result, these funds have a positive impact, especially on the services sector, real estate and trade.

"In January-May of this year, compared to the same period last year, the economic activity index of Armenia increased by 10.2%. In addition, service sector growth amounted to 24.9%. Thus, the influx of Russians had a significant impact on this growth," the economist says.

With the increase in remittances, the amount of dollars in Armenia increases, which is one of the main reasons for the devaluation of the dollar in the last three months.