Meanwhile, something like 100k younger, tech-savvy Russians moving in has boosted the neighboring Georgia's GDP projections from -3% to 10%.
In the late spring and summer, the government'd been trying to plug holes in its IT capabilities by offering up to 100% discounts on education in the in-demand areas of IT. Seeing the early, pre-mobilization relocations, they'd been trying to offer financial incentives for Russian IT specialists to come back: one-time cash, apartments, and something else of the sort.
Meanwhile, a famous crematorium – award-winning for its architecture – had closed because... drumroll... it's made with components from Czechia and can't be repaired due to the sanctions blocking import of said components.
It's ridiculous that in the country with dirt-cheap monthly Internet payments and some of the best banking apps in the world, this is the state of the art.
Somewhat related: Masters of adaptation ("András Tóth-Czifra explains how the war on Ukraine is reshaping Russia’s digital underground")