Cyprus is losing its Russians

In Cyprus, Russian connections are everywhere. With Europe severing its connections to a warmongering Russia in the course of just a few days, Cyprus is confronting an existential question: What happens if these Russians suddenly disappear?

In Cyprus, the service industry, including tourism, accounts for more than 80 percent of the economy. And Russians have long kept the service industry humming.

Cypriot authorities are now trying to make up for the expected losses, reaching out to other markets. But they acknowledge it will be hard, especially after the pandemic already damaged the tourism industry.

Cyprus is a small country and is known for its past relationship with Russia and the oligarchs, thus it is very difficult to support itself and could become a victim of sanctions.