The number of people with Russian citizenship living in European countries as of January 1, 2023, was by far the highest in Germany. The country's population includes around 260,000 Russian citizens. That was more than double the number of Russian citizens living in Spain. To compare, over 35,400 Russian nationals resided in Czechia.

In 2024, Russia had the largest population among European countries at ***** million people. The next largest countries in terms of their population size were Turkey at **** million, Germany at **** million, the United Kingdom at **** million, and France at **** million. Europe is also home to some of the world’s smallest countries, such as the microstates of Liechtenstein and San Marino, with populations of ****** and ****** respectively. Europe’s largest economies Germany was Europe’s largest economy in 2023, with a Gross Domestic Product of around *** trillion Euros, while the UK and France are the second and third largest economies, at *** trillion and *** trillion euros respectively. Prior to the mid-2000s, Europe’s fourth-largest economy, Italy, had an economy that was of a similar sized to France and the UK, before diverging growth patterns saw the UK and France become far larger economies than Italy. Moscow and Istanbul the megacities of Europe Two cities on the eastern borders of Europe were Europe’s largest in 2023. The Turkish city of Istanbul, with a population of 15.8 million, and the Russian capital, Moscow, with a population of 12.7 million. Istanbul is arguably the world’s most famous transcontinental city with territory in both Europe and Asia and has been an important center for commerce and culture for over 2,000 years. Paris was the third largest European city with a population of ** million, with London being the fourth largest at *** million.

The largest number of Russians living abroad was recorded in Europe, measuring at nearly 6.2 million people in 2020. Furthermore, over four million Russians resided in Asian countries. Northern America was a residence of nearly 482 thousand people who were born in Russia.

The average for 2023 based on 47 countries was 0.22 percent. The highest value was in Russia: 1.79 percent and the lowest value was in Andorra: 0 percent. The indicator is available from 1960 to 2023. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

Russia is the largest country in Europe, and also the largest in the world, its total size amounting to 17 million square kilometers (km2). It should be noted, however, that over three quarters of Russia is located in Asia, and the Ural mountains are often viewed as the meeting point of the two continents in Russia; nonetheless, European Russia is still significantly larger than any other European country. Ukraine, the second largest country on the continent, is only 603,000 km2, making it about 28 times smaller than its eastern neighbor, or seven times smaller than the European part of Russia. France is the third largest country in Europe, but the largest in the European Union. The Vatican City, often referred to as the Holy Sea, is both the smallest country in Europe and in the world, at just one km2. Population Russia is also the most populous country in Europe. It has around 144 million inhabitants across the country; in this case, around three quarters of the population live in the European part, which still gives it the largest population in Europe. Despite having the largest population, Russia is a very sparsely populated country due to its size and the harsh winters. Germany is the second most populous country in Europe, with 83 million inhabitants, while the Vatican has the smallest population. Worldwide, India and China are the most populous countries, with approximately 1.4 billion inhabitants each. Cities Moscow in Russia is ranked as the most populous city in Europe with around 13 million inhabitants, although figures vary, due to differences in the methodologies used by countries and sources. Some statistics include Istanbul in Turkey* as the largest city in Europe with its 15 million inhabitants, bit it has been excluded here as most of the country and parts of the city is located in Asia. Worldwide, Tokyo is the most populous city, with Jakarta the second largest and Delhi the third.

Several studies examined the fine-scale structure of human genetic variation in Europe. However, the European sets analyzed represent mainly northern, western, central, and southern Europe. Here, we report an analysis of approximately 166,000 single nucleotide polymorphisms in populations from eastern (northeastern) Europe: four Russian populations from European Russia, and three populations from the northernmost Finno-Ugric ethnicities (Veps and two contrast groups of Komi people). These were compared with several reference European samples, including Finns, Estonians, Latvians, Poles, Czechs, Germans, and Italians. The results obtained demonstrated genetic heterogeneity of populations living in the region studied. Russians from the central part of European Russia (Tver, Murom, and Kursk) exhibited similarities with populations from central–eastern Europe, and were distant from Russian sample from the northern Russia (Mezen district, Archangelsk region). Komi samples, especially Izhemski Komi, were significantly different from all other populations studied. These can be considered as a second pole of genetic diversity in northern Europe (in addition to the pole, occupied by Finns), as they had a distinct ancestry component. Russians from Mezen and the Finnic-speaking Veps were positioned between the two poles, but differed from each other in the proportions of Komi and Finnic ancestries. In general, our data provides a more complete genetic map of Europe accounting for the diversity in its most eastern (northeastern) populations.

According to the 2010 UN Global Demographic Outlook, the world’s population reached 7.1 billion as of 1 July 2012. Asia accounted for the majority of the world’s population (just over 60 % in 2012), with 4.25 billion inhabitants, while Africa was the second most populous continent, with 1.07 billion inhabitants, or 15.2 % of the world’s total. By comparison, the EU had 504 million inhabitants in 2012, just over 7 % of the world’s population. In 2012, the world’s most populous countries were China (19.2 % of the world’s population) and India (17.8 %), followed by the United States (4.5 %), Indonesia (3.5 %) and Brazil (2.8 %).

The table contains the demographic projections of the main European countries from 2020 to 2080. The Eurostat table has been modified by economy-policy in order to obtain better visibility. Indeed, the number of inhabitants is expressed in “million inhabitants” and not in unit data.
In addition, demographic projections for China, India, Brazil and Russia were added for the years 2030, 2040 and 2050.

The population of Europe was estimated to be 745 million in 2024, an increase of around 4 million when compared with 2012. Over 35 years between 1950 and 1985, the population of Europe grew by approximately 157.8 million. But 35 years after 1985 it was estimated to have only increased by around 38.7 million. Since the 1960s, population growth in Europe has fallen quite significantly and was even negative during the mid-1990s. While population growth has increased slightly since the low of -0.07 percent in 1998, the growth rate for 2020 was just 0.04 percent. Which European country has the biggest population? As of 2024, the population of Russia was estimated to be approximately 144.8 million and was by far Europe's largest country in terms of population, with Turkey being the second-largest at over 87 million. While these two countries both have territory in Europe, however, they are both only partially in Europe, with the majority of their landmasses being in Asia. In terms of countries wholly located on the European continent, Germany had the highest population at 84.5 million, and was followed by the United Kingdom and France at 69.1 million and 66.5 million respectively. Characteristics of Europe's population There are approximately 384.6 million females in Europe, compared with 359.5 million males, a difference of around 25 million. In 1950, however, the male population has grown faster than the female one, with the male population growing by 104.7 million, and the female one by 93.6 million. As of 2024, the single year of age with the highest population was 37, at 10.6 million, while in the same year there were estimated to be around 136 thousand people aged 100 or over.

Opinion data from Hungary, Bulgaria and Latvia (including the Russian-speaking minority). This survey focuses on relations with and attitudes towards Russia in three East European countries with a record of close ties with Russia – Latvia, Hungary, and Bulgaria. The survey was carried out against the backdrop of Russia´s annexation of Crimea and Eastern Ukraine. It may be the very first survey to tap East European reactions to Russia’s drastic attempt to redraw the map of post-war Eastern Europe. The 2015 Post-Crimea Survey asks many of the key questions in the Baltic Barometer questions about identity, democracy, and the European Union (Baltic Barometer 2014). Opinionsdata från Ungern, Bulgarien och Lettland (inklusive den rysktalande minoriteten). Denna undersökning fokuserar på relationen med och attityder till Ryssland i tre östeuropeiska länder som historiskt haft nära band till Ryssland, nämligen Lettland, Ungern och Bulgarien. Undersökningen gjordes mot bakgrund av Rysslands annektering av Krim och östra Ukraina. Det kan vara den första undersökningen som tar del av östeuropeiska reaktioner på Rysslands drastiska försök att rita om kartan för efterkrigstidens Östeuropa. 2015 års undersökningen Post-Crimea, tar upp många av nyckelfrågorna i Baltic Barometer, så som identitet, demokrati och Europeiska unionen (Baltic Barometer 2014).

Abstract The aim of this article is to research the main characteristics of two Russian groups coming to the State of São Paulo after World War II: DPs from Europe and Russian refugees from China. To that end, data contained in the database on DPs in the State of São Paulo, consolidated by Salles et al. (2013), was systematized and analyzed. Research revealed that the Brazilian policy on admission of DPs as industrial workforce had direct impact on the profile of the Russian population selected to immigrate to Brazil, mainly moving to the capital of the State of São Paulo. Russian refugees from China had a different demographic and social profile; the group had the most women and children and employed predominantly in the service sector. The professional characteristics of these two groups determined their distribution in the districts of São Paulo. As Europe’s Russian DPs moved to peripheral and industrial districts, Russians from China settled in neighborhoods closer to the city center.

Judgement on current situation in life and political and economic development of the country in times of economic and social upheaval.

Topics: 1. Common part of the survey for all participating countries: most important problems of the country; intent to emigrate and country of choice; desired occupation for one´s own child; judgement on the work of the president of the country; fears and desires for the future; assessment of current standard of living and comparison with the situation five years ago and expected future development; judgement on the situation of the country in comparison over time; preference for freedom or social security; attitude to admission of undemocratic parties; attitude to freedom of the press; perceived discrimination against women; attitude to division of labor in raising children; judgement on conduct of parliamentary representatives and attitude to democracy in the country (scale); feeling of political effectiveness; internal or external control; achievement orientation; attitude to the national economy; demand for increased environmental protection; desire for foreign support for one´s country; the government as guarantor of equal opportunities and social security; welfare state; necessity of the willingness to compromise in politics; interest in politics at municipal level; diminishing interest in political events; self-assessment as patriot; attitude to securing of peace through military strength; readiness for national defense; necessity of participation of one´s country in world politics; claims to territory in neighboring countries; attitude to restriction on immigration; attitude to use of military for restoration of world order.

Religion and morals: importance of prayer and significance of God in one´s own life; doubt in the existence of God; attitude to prohibition of books critical of society and to sex magazines and films; attitude to freedom of speech even for fascists; assessment of the general trustworthiness of people; AIDS as punishment by God; representation of traditional values in the area of family and marriage; attitude to abortion; clear concepts of Good and Evil; perceived intensification of class differences; assessment of personal things in common with uneducated and with persons of another race or ethnic affiliation; satisfaction with one´s own financial situation.

Demography: party membership; union membership; residential status; city size; religiousness.

1. Additional questions in this survey: judgement on political and economic changes of the last few years; particularly positive and negative changes; attitude to introduction of a multi-party system and introduction of the free market economy; judgement on the speed of transition to the free market economy; assessment of the influence of the media and organizations as well as institutions on the country; assumed influence of foreign nations on one´s own country; attitude to selected ethnic groups (Russians, Georgians, Lithuanians, Ukrainians, Jews, Armenians, Azerbaijanis) and people from the asiatic republics; perceived threat to the nation from within and without; judgement on the effects of the social changes on the standard of living, moral concepts, public morals, dealing of the people with one another and on the relation of ethnic groups with each other; judgement on the influence of the church; most reliable alliance partner for one´s country; countries from which the greatest threat originates; attitude to Gorbachev, Bush, the Pope, the UN and selected personalities of public life; attitude to privatization of selected areas of the economy and civil service; attitude to free establishing of prices; acceptance of unemployment or preference for government guarantee of full-employment; attitude to a government-specified profit limitation; attitude to borrowing to finance durable economic goods; occupation within one´s own home; work satisfaction; satisfaction with employer; attitude to founding business with credit financing; judgement on the speed with which democracy is developing in the country; identification with one´s country or the Soviet Union; assessment of the ability of government, army, parties, church and KGB; attitude to a Republic independent of the USSR; most important reasons for desired independence; privileged or disadvantaged republics within the USSR; preferred development of society in the direction of socialism or capitalism; greatest fears of the future; attitude to priva...

Russia is a country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, covering over 17,125,191 square kilometres (6,612,073 sq mi), and encompassing one-eighth of Earth's inhabitable landmass. Russia extends across eleven time zones, and has the most borders of any country in the world, with sixteen sovereign nations. It has a population of 146.2 million; and is the most populous country in Europe, and the ninth-most populous country in the world. Moscow, the capital, is the largest city in Europe; while Saint Petersburg is the second-largest city and cultural centre. Russians are the largest Slavic and European nation; they speak Russian, the most spoken Slavic language, and the most spoken native language in Europe.

Source: Objaverse 1.0 / Sketchfab

Other than in Russia, the Russian language was widely spoken in CIS countries by over 79 million people in 2019. Furthermore, more than 13 million residents of Eastern European and Balkan countries were Russian speakers. Russian was the eighth most widely spoken language worldwide as of 2019.

In 2025, Moscow was the largest city in Europe with an estimated urban agglomeration of 12.74 million people. The French capital, Paris, was the second largest city in 2025 at 11.35 million, followed by the capitals of the United Kingdom and Spain, with London at 9.84 million and Madrid at 6.81 million people. Istanbul, which would otherwise be the largest city in Europe in 2025, is excluded as it is only partially in Europe, with a sizeable part of its population living in Asia. Europe’s population is almost 750 million Since 1950, the population of Europe has increased by approximately 200 million people, increasing from 550 million to 750 million in these seventy years. Before the turn of the millennium, Europe was the second-most populated continent, before it was overtaken by Africa, which saw its population increase from 228 million in 1950 to 817 million by 2000. Asia has consistently had the largest population of the world’s continents and was estimated to have a population of 4.6 billion. Europe’s largest countries Including its territory in Asia, Russia is by far the largest country in the world, with a territory of around 17 million square kilometers, almost double that of the next largest country, Canada. Within Europe, Russia also has the continent's largest population at 145 million, followed by Germany at 83 million and the United Kingdom at almost 68 million. By contrast, Europe is also home to various micro-states such as San Marino, which has a population of just 30 thousand.

A data set of cross-nationally comparable microdata samples for 15 Economic Commission for Europe (ECE) countries (Bulgaria, Canada, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Russia, Switzerland, Turkey, UK, USA) based on the 1990 national population and housing censuses in countries of Europe and North America to study the social and economic conditions of older persons. These samples have been designed to allow research on a wide range of issues related to aging, as well as on other social phenomena. A common set of nomenclatures and classifications, derived on the basis of a study of census data comparability in Europe and North America, was adopted as a standard for recoding. This series was formerly called Dynamics of Population Aging in ECE Countries. The recommendations regarding the design and size of the samples drawn from the 1990 round of censuses envisaged: (1) drawing individual-based samples of about one million persons; (2) progressive oversampling with age in order to ensure sufficient representation of various categories of older people; and (3) retaining information on all persons co-residing in the sampled individual''''s dwelling unit. Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania provided the entire population over age 50, while Finland sampled it with progressive over-sampling. Canada, Italy, Russia, Turkey, UK, and the US provided samples that had not been drawn specially for this project, and cover the entire population without over-sampling. Given its wide user base, the US 1990 PUMS was not recoded. Instead, PAU offers mapping modules, which recode the PUMS variables into the project''''s classifications, nomenclatures, and coding schemes. Because of the high sampling density, these data cover various small groups of older people; contain as much geographic detail as possible under each country''''s confidentiality requirements; include more extensive information on housing conditions than many other data sources; and provide information for a number of countries whose data were not accessible until recently. Data Availability: Eight of the fifteen participating countries have signed the standard data release agreement making their data available through NACDA/ICPSR (see links below). Hungary and Switzerland require a clearance to be obtained from their national statistical offices for the use of microdata, however the documents signed between the PAU and these countries include clauses stipulating that, in general, all scholars interested in social research will be granted access. Russia requested that certain provisions for archiving the microdata samples be removed from its data release arrangement. The PAU has an agreement with several British scholars to facilitate access to the 1991 UK data through collaborative arrangements. Statistics Canada and the Italian Institute of statistics (ISTAT) provide access to data from Canada and Italy, respectively. * Dates of Study: 1989-1992 * Study Features: International, Minority Oversamples * Sample Size: Approx. 1 million/country Links: * Bulgaria (1992), http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/icpsrweb/ICPSR/studies/02200 * Czech Republic (1991), http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/icpsrweb/ICPSR/studies/06857 * Estonia (1989), http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/icpsrweb/ICPSR/studies/06780 * Finland (1990), http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/icpsrweb/ICPSR/studies/06797 * Romania (1992), http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/icpsrweb/ICPSR/studies/06900 * Latvia (1989), http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/icpsrweb/ICPSR/studies/02572 * Lithuania (1989), http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/icpsrweb/ICPSR/studies/03952 * Turkey (1990), http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/icpsrweb/ICPSR/studies/03292 * U.S. (1990), http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/icpsrweb/ICPSR/studies/06219

Abstract

The World Values Survey (www.worldvaluessurvey.org) is a global network of social scientists studying changing values and their impact on social and political life, led by an international team of scholars, with the WVS association and secretariat headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden. The survey, which started in 1981, seeks to use the most rigorous, high-quality research designs in each country. The WVS consists of nationally representative surveys conducted in almost 100 countries which contain almost 90 percent of the world’s population, using a common questionnaire. The WVS is the largest non-commercial, cross-national, time series investigation of human beliefs and values ever executed, currently including interviews with almost 400,000 respondents. Moreover the WVS is the only academic study covering the full range of global variations, from very poor to very rich countries, in all of the world’s major cultural zones. The WVS seeks to help scientists and policy makers understand changes in the beliefs, values and motivations of people throughout the world. Thousands of political scientists, sociologists, social psychologists, anthropologists and economists have used these data to analyze such topics as economic development, democratization, religion, gender equality, social capital, and subjective well-being. These data have also been widely used by government officials, journalists and students, and groups at the World Bank have analyzed the linkages between cultural factors and economic development.

Geographic coverage

This survey covers the Russian Federation.

Analysis unit

• Household
• Individual

Universe

The WVS for the Russian Federation covers national population, aged 18 years and over, for both sexes.

Kind of data

Sample survey data [ssd]

Sampling procedure

The sample was designed to be representative of the entire adult population, i.e. 18 years and older, of your country. The lower age cut-off for the sample was 18 and there was not an upper age cut-off for the sample. Population: Total non-institutionalized population of the Russian Federation, 18 years and older, without citizens living in the Far North and in inaccessible regions of Siberia.

Five-stage area probability sample: (1) The country is divided into 4 strata. For each stratum the desired number of respondents is defined proportional to population size. (2) Within each stratum 50 primary sampling units (administrative districts) are selected at random proportional to size. (3) Within each primary sampling unit secondary sampling units (towns and rural Soviets as administrative subdistricts) are selected randomly (4) Within each secondary sampling unit third sampling units (voting districts in the towns, villages belonging to a rural Soviet in the rural areas) are randomly selected. The total number of third sampling units was 186. (5) Within each third sampling unit households were selected at random from a household register (fourth sampling unit). (6) Within each household the respondent is randomly selected using the "Kish-selection-grid": all adult family members are listed in a certain order, first males from the oldest to the youngest, than females from the oldest to the youngest; the respondent is selected by a selection key which is randomly composed for each possible type of household composition (fifth sampling unit). Selection is done: 41% Male and 59% Female. 75% Urban and 25% Rural. The sample size is N=2040.

Universe: The universe includes the adult population of Russia residing in 89 regios and republics. The Far North and inaccessible regions of Siberia, military bases and prisons are not included. Primary sampling units: Administrative rayons in regions, krays and republics are used as the primary sampling units (PSUs). Each rayon is a geographically localized territory which in general contains both urban and rural settlements. Either a town or a rural settlement may be a center of rayon. Usually, but not always, it is the largest settlement in a rayon. If a rural settlement is the center of a rayon itself generally consists only of rural settlements and is referred to the category of rural rayhons. Separate towns which are considered by official statistical institutions as rayons are also included in the set of primary sampling units. These towns are not part of rayons though they are situated in the rayon's territory. Sometimes they may also include some suburbs. So separate towns and rural rayons may be considered as two poles of a scale which contains all various rayhons of Russia (primary sampling units, PSUs). On the continuum between these poles there are rayons of mixed type containing urban and rural sttlements of different sizes. Population size of different rayons may vary from 4-5 thousand to several hundred thousand or even several million of people in cities considered as separate rayons. If population size is less than 10.000 the rayon is linked to an adjacent one in a stratum. All PSUs are presented in the form of data base of more than 2.000 records with each record corresponding to one rayon or separate town (later referred to as rayons). The record for each rayon (PSU) contains the following data: - unique identification number and rayon title, - code and title of a region, - central town population size, - rayon population size All data are based on annual statistical reports (Chislennost RSFSR na 1 janvarya 1990) and 1989 census information. Primary sampling units stratification: PSUs stratification is based on two variables: geographical placement and status of the rayon center. All primary sampling units are grouped in strata consisting of homogeneous rayons. Strata are formed so that each stratum has approximately the same population size. They may consist of from one to several dozen PSUs depending on PSUs population size. In this sample the stratum population size is equal approximately 3.000 thousand (tab.1). Two cities in Russia Moscow and St. Petersburg have population size exceeding stratum population size. They form so called self-representing strata. The geographic placement of a rayon is defined by corresponding economic and geographic zone. According to statistical institutions Russia is divided into 11 economic and geopraphic regions. But for sample construction this division seems to be too fractional and can prevent forming strata of equal size in each zone. The main goal for using the geographic factor as a stratification variable is the uniform spreading of PSUs through Russia territory. For these reasons economic and geographic regions in Russia wre grouped in four zones:

• Zone 1 - North and Center of European part of Russia (unites Northern, North Western + Kaliningrad obl., Central and Volgo-´Vjatsky regions of Russia).

• Zone 2 - South of Wuropean part of Russia (unites Tsentralno-Chernozjemny, Povolzhsky and North- Caucasian regions of Russia).

• Zone 3 - Ural and West Siberia (two economic regions)

• Zone 4 - East Siberia and Far East (two economic regions). For economic and geographic division in Russia seven factors are used: nature and resources, population, industry, power engineering, area industry distribution, agriculture, transport and communicftions ( Economicheskaya geographiya SSSR. Moskva, Vishaya shkola, 1983). 11 regions were aggregated in four zones on the basis of two first factors: nature and resources and population. The second variable of PSUs stratification is the status of the rayon center. It is formed on officially accepted statistical classification by type and population size:

• rural settlement,

• urban settlement with populatiton size:

  • below 20.000
  • between 20.000 and 50.000
  • between 50.000 and 200.000
  • between 500.000 and 1000.000
  • more than 1000.000

Remarks about sampling: - Final numbers of clusters or sampling points: 186 - Sample unit from office sampling: Household

Mode of data collection

Face-to-face [f2f]

Research instrument

The WVS questionnaire was in Russian. Some special variable labels have been included, such as: V56 Neighbours: Jews and V149 Institution: The European Union. Special categories labels are: V203/ V204: Geographical affinity, 1. Locality or town where you live, 2. Region of country where you live, 3. Own country as a whole, 4. Europe, 5. The world as whole. Country Specific variables included are: V208: Ethnic identification, 2. Ukranian, 3. Tatarian 4. Komi 5 Mordovia, 6 Karbardian 7 Balkarian; V209: Language at home: 2. Ukranian, 3. Tatarian 4. Komi 5 Mordovia, 6 Karbardian 7 Balkarian; The variables political parties V210 a V212; Region: V 234 and V206 Born in this country are also included as country specific variables. The ethnic group of the respondent was not asked in the interview. In the cases of Eastern Europe Countries where the ethnic group is missing the language chosen for interview is the only indicator available to control the ethnic composition of the samples. Nevertheless, native language indicated in the cesus of 1989 and language chosen for interview are not exactly the same, since the first is rather differentiated whereas for the last the alternatives to choose between where only the national language or Russian.

Response rate

The response rate for the Russian Federation is 74.9% and is calculated as follows: (2040/2723) x 100=74.9%

Sampling error estimates

+/- 2,2%

In February 2025, over ** percent of Russians had a negative attitude toward the European Union (EU), down ** percentage points compared to September 2024. In recent years, the public opinion was the most positive in November 2019, when more than **** of respondents viewed the EU positively.

Over 1.2 million refugees from Ukraine due to the Russian invasion fled to Germany as of April 2025. Furthermore, the second-highest number was recorded in Poland. In total, around 5.1 million Ukrainian refugees were registered across Europe and 5.6 million worldwide as of May 2025. Most of them fled the country by crossing the border with Poland. Ukrainian refugees in Germany The first increases in the number of Ukrainian refugees in Germany were registered in March and April 2022. The figure exceeded one million refugees in September of that year. Germany had the highest monthly financial allowance for Ukrainians who fled the war compared to other European countries as of June 2022. Temporary protection for Ukrainian refugees in the EU European Union (EU) members implemented the Temporary Protection Directive (TPD), which guaranteed access to accommodation, welfare, and healthcare to refugees from Ukraine. People fleeing the war had a right to a residence permit in the EU, enter the labor market, and enroll children in educational institutions. The protection is granted until March 4, 2026, but it can be extended in the future depending on the situation in the country.

Aim: Concepts about patterns and rates of post-glacial tree population migration are changing as a result of the increasing amount of palaeobotanical information being provided by macroscopic plant remains. Here we combine macrofossil, pollen and stomata records from five sites in north-eastern European Russia and summarize the results for the late-glacial-early Holocene transition. The late-glacial-early Holocene transition encompasses the first indications of trees (tree-type Betula, Picea abies, Abies sibirica and Larix sibirica) and subsequent forest development. Considerable time-lags between the first macrobotanical and/or stomata finds of spruce (Picea abies) and the establishment of a closed forest are reconsidered. Location: Pechora basin, north-eastern European Russia. Methods: We used plant macrofossil, stomata, pollen and radiocarbon analyses to reconstruct late-glacial and early Holocene tree establishment and forest development. The data were derived from lake sediment and peat archives. Results: Palaeobotanical data reveal an early Holocene presence (11,500-10,000 cal. yr bp) of arboreal taxa at all five sites. One site presently located in the northernmost taiga zone, shows the presence of spruce and reproducing tree birch during the late-glacial. Given the current view of post-glacial population dynamics and migration rates, it seems likely that the source area of these early tree populations in north-eastern European Russia was not located in southern Europe but that these populations had local origins. Results thus support the emerging view that the first post-glacial population expansions in non-glaciated regions at high latitudes do not reflect migration from the south but were a result of an increase in the size and density of small persisting outlying tree populations. Main conclusions: Results suggest that the area east of the margin of the Scandinavian ice sheet to the Ural Mountains had isolated patches of trees during the late-glacial and early Holocene and that these small populations acted as initial nuclei for population expansion and forest development in the early Holocene.

Genetic variation at variable number tandem repeat (VNTR) markers was used to assess population structure and diversity among 296 Fusarium graminearum isolates from northern Europe (Finland, northwestern Russia, and Norway), southern Europe (southwestern and western Russia), and Asia (Siberia and the Russian Far East). We identified at least two highly differentiated and geographically structured genetic populations (E1 and E2) in Eurasia (ΦPT = 0.35). Isolates from northern Europe were almost exclusively from the E1 population (95.6%) and had the 3ADON (3-acetyldeoxynivalenol) trichothecene genotype (97.3%). In contrast, all isolates from southern Europe were from the E2 population and 94.4% had the 15ADON (15-acetyldeoxynivalenol) genotype. The E2 population also predominated in the Asian sampling locations (92.7%) where 3ADON and 15ADON genotypes occurred at nearly equal frequencies. Southern European isolates were more closely related to those from Asia (ΦPT = 0.06) than to geographically closer populations from northern Europe (ΦPT ≥ 0.31). Northern European populations also harbored substantially less genetic diversity (Ne ≤ 2.1) than populations in southern Europe or Asia (Ne ≥ 3.4), indicative of a selective sweep or recent introduction and subsequent range expansion in northern Europe. Bayesian analyses incorporating previously described genetic populations from North America (NA1 and NA2) surprisingly identified NA2 and E2 as a single genetic population, consistent with hypotheses of a recent Eurasian origin for NA2. Additionally, more than 10% of the isolates from Asia and southern Europe were assigned to the NA1 population, indicating recent introductions of NA1 into parts of Eurasia. Collectively, these results demonstrate that there are at least three genetic populations of F. graminearum in the Northern Hemisphere and indicate that population-level diversity in Eurasia and North America has been shaped by recent transcontinental introductions.