Antalya is losing its glory as Turkey's "Russian" city: what happened and why Russians raised the alarm

Russians are complaining en masse about price hikes in Turkey, which for many has become a refuge after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. However, this is not the main problem for citizens of the aggressor country.

The government has begun to massively deny permanent residence permits. This is reported by propaganda media.

According to the Russians, "Antalya may lose its glory as one of the most 'Russian' cities in Turkey." Strict rules for obtaining a residence permit, constant checks on foreigners, and "unpredictable changes in legislation" have led to the departure of 40,000 people from the city.

A Russian woman who has been living in the city for 5 years decided to share her story. "The migration center did not even look at the documents for the extension. Usually, they check every piece of paper. They gave us 10 days to leave the country," she said about her friends.

Turkish citizens themselves believe that the record inflation in the country was caused by foreigners. As a result, food prices have increased several times. "It's more expensive than in Moscow," Russian tourists say.

It is noted that many Russians "arrived" in the fall of 2022, but were forced to leave Turkey a year later. This is because their annual ikamet (residence permit) expired. Many chats have appeared on Telegram, where Russian citizens are trying to sell household appliances and furniture that they have bought to equip their homes as soon as possible.