Russians rush to rent flats in Yerevan on mobilization fears
Russians are racing to rent apartments in Yerevan, Armenia, as fears mount that the Kremlin could order a new mobilization wave after Russia's State Duma elections in September. Real estate agents say the rush increasingly resembles the exodus of autumn 2022, when Moscow announced its first partial mobilization.
Two years ago, most rental inquiries came from Russian emigrants already settled in Armenia and simply moving apartments, agents in Yerevan told the independent Russian outlet Verstka. Today, about 80% of prospective tenants are people who have just arrived or plan to relocate soon.
That shift has pushed up prices. Yerevan rents have climbed roughly 30% over the past three months, real estate specialists estimate.
Agents say demand began rising around Russia's early-May holidays and is now dominated by requests for September leases. Many Russians, they say, are trying to leave the country before the State Duma vote — a rush that could push rents even higher.
Activity on Telegram channels dedicated to Yerevan rentals has also intensified, The Moscow Times reports. Dozens of listings go up daily from people already in Armenia or planning to emigrate this autumn, both families with children and single tenants. Administrators of housing groups say good deals are already hard to find.
Search data from Yandex's Wordstat tool shows Russian interest in "apartments in Yerevan" climbing since spring 2026. The week of July 13-19 logged about 5,200 searches, more than during the first days of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February-March 2022. The all-time high remains the roughly 10,000 weekly searches recorded during the September 2022 partial mobilization. Google Trends data shows a similar pattern, with current interest comparable to the surges seen at the war's outset and during the mobilization.
Verstka reports that Russian authorities could introduce martial law and declare a new mobilization after the September State Duma vote. Officials have not confirmed this, but the scenario has circulated for months.
Analysts at the Institute for the Study of War and unnamed European officials cited by The Washington Post have also floated the possibility, saying the Kremlin could turn to mobilization again if battlefield losses keep mounting.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said earlier that Russia could mobilize between 300,000 and 500,000 people, adding that the Kremlin could make that call as early as October if military and economic pressure fails to increase.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
