Now, many of those immigrants are taking advantage of relaxed entry rules and beneficial immigration laws and settling in Argentina and Brazil, mostly in the Argentine capital and the Brazilian coastal city of Florianópolis, an idyllic collection of islands covered in lush forest in the country’s far south. Both cities, located thousands of miles from Russia, have long been magnets for European immigrants fleeing conflict and poverty.

In Argentina, the center of the new Little Russia community is spread across Palermo, Belgrano and other neighborhoods of Buenos Aires known for their hip restaurants and youthful residents. The newcomers have opened Russian-speaking beauty salons, restaurants, daycare centers and small theaters. Others are digital nomads, working in Russian and paid in foreign currencies or crypto.

Brazil also provides perks for new parents, allowing immigrants to apply for citizenship after giving birth in the country, providing them with a passport that allows them to bypass growing travel restrictions on Russians. The European Union has restricted Russian citizens from visiting the 27-nation bloc by toughening visa requirements. But Argentines and Brazilians enter Europe visa-free.

Grigorii Mikhailov learned his wife was pregnant with their first child two days before hostilities. “When the war broke out we were in shock,” he said. “We knew we had to leave Russia. I was afraid I would be called up or would end up in prison.” Mikhailov explained how the couple grabbed their Welsh corgi, Fred, and fled to Thailand to stay with friends. After struggling to get authorization to live there, a friend in Florianópolis tipped them off about Brazil’s generous immigration laws. The couple was soon on a plane to Latin America.

Argentina’s economic crisis provided some Russians an opportunity to buy apartments at cut-rate prices. Local real-estate agents say Russians were among the top foreign buyers last year. Olga Ellinskaya, a 41-year-old from Sochi, bought an apartment near Buenos Aires’s famed Teatro Colón. She now lives there with her two children, mother and partner.