“Our people respect the Russian and Ukrainian people,” says Savvo Dobrovic. “I simply haven’t noticed any bad relations.”
It sounds like a recipe for tension and confrontation: tens of thousands of people from opposing sides in a bitter, protracted war descending on a small Balkan nation with its own very recent memories of conflict.
But Montenegro has managed the influx so far.
Since February 2022, Ukrainian refugees and Russian exiles have fanned out across Europe, fleeing war, conscription and Vladimir Putin’s rule.
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More than four million people have fled Ukraine for temporary protection in the European Union – to Germany and Poland and elsewhere.
But beyond the EU, Montenegro has let in in more than 200,000 Ukrainians, making it the highest per capita Ukrainian refugee population in the world.
“Montenegrins are very patient, they are people who want to help,” says Dobrovic, a property owner in the Adriatic resort of Budva.
The word polako, meaning “slowly”, is integral to their way of life.
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“It amazes me – they’re a mountain people, but all that’s left from that noisy temperament is a desire to hug you,” says Natalya Sevets-Yermolina, who runs the Russian cultural centre Reforum in Budva.
Montenegro, a Nato member and candidate for EU status, has not been without its problems.
It has a substantial ethnic Serb population, many of whom have pro-Russian sympathies, and six Russian diplomats were expelled two years ago on suspicion of spying.
The most recent figures from September last year show more than 10,000 had benefited, and the UN says 62,000 Ukrainians had registered some legal status by then. That is nearly 10% of Montenegro’s population.
Thousands more have come from Russia or Belarus.
For all of these groups Montenegro is attractive for its visa-free regime, similar language, common religion and Western-leaning government.
That welcome does not always extend to their quality of life.
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While there are plenty of jobs for immigrants in coastal areas, they are often seasonal and poorly paid. Better quality, professional work is harder to find. The luckier ones have been able to retain the jobs they had back home, working remotely.
Another difficulty is that it is almost impossible to get citizenship here, a problem for those who, for whatever reason, are unable to renew their passports.
There has been a strong Russian presence in Montenegro for years, and it has a reputation, perhaps unfairly, as a playground for the very rich.
Many Russians and Ukrainians have property or family connections, but there is also a large contingent who ended up here almost by chance, feeling completely lost.
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It was for them that non-profit shelter Pristaniste (Haven) was set up.
Based in Budva, it gives the most desperate arrivals a safe place and a warm welcome for two weeks as they find their feet.
They are given help with documentation, hunting for jobs and flats, and Ukrainians can also come for two weeks as a “holiday” from the war.
Valentina Ostroglyad, 60, came here with her daughter a year ago from Zaporizhzhia, a regional capital in south-eastern Ukraine that comes under repeated, deadly Russian bombardment.
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“When I first arrived in Montenegro I couldn’t handle fireworks, or even a roof falling in – I associated it with those explosions,” she said.
Now she is working as an art teacher and enjoying her adopted country: “Today I went up to a spring, admired the mountains and sea. And people are very kind.”
The ongoing grimness of the war ensures that Ukrainians keep coming, no longer able to endure the pain and suffering at home.
Sasha Borkov, a driver from Kharkiv, was separated from his wife and six children, aged four to 16, as they left Ukraine in late August.
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He was turned back at the Polish border – he previously did jail time in Hungary for transporting irregular migrants and is banned from the EU. His family were allowed to continue to Germany while he, after a tense few days travelling around Europe, was finally allowed to touch down in Montenegro.
Visibly stressed and exhausted, he described how the war had finally driven him and his family from their home.
“When you see and hear every day houses being destroyed, people being killed, it’s impossible to convey,” he said.
“Our flat isn’t damaged but windows get broken, and [the bombs] are getting closer and closer.”
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Borkov said he had been looking at the possibility of going to Montenegro since the start of the war: “[Pristaniste] took me in, gave me food and drink, a place to stay. I rested, then I started looking for work.”
He has already found a job and his family are due to join him here. He is applying for temporary protection, and a place at a Ukrainian refugee centre.
Elsewhere in Budva, Yuliya Matsuy has set up a children’s centre for Ukrainians to take lessons in history, English, maths and art – or just to dance, sing and watch films.
Many were traumatised by war, she says: “They weren’t interested in the mountains or the sea, they wanted nothing.”
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“But when they started interacting, their eyes were smiling. Those children’s smiles and emotions were something that’s impossible to convey. And only then we understood we were doing the right thing.”
Now most are settled. The younger children learned Montenegrin and now attend local schools, while the older ones have continued their learning remotely at Ukrainian schools.
Both charities have Russian volunteers, which has helped foster good relations between the Russian and Ukrainian communities here.
Other parts of Europe have seen occasional friction. At the start of the war, Germany recorded a rise in attacks on Ukrainians and Russians.
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But there has been little of that so far in Montenegro.
There is a sense of tolerance here and Pristaniste and its volunteers have had a role in promoting it.
Sasha Borkov distinguishes between Russians he has met in Budva and those fighting the war in Ukraine.
“People here are trying to help, they’re not doing anything against our country, against us, against my children, [unlike] those who fire at and destroy our houses, and say that they’re liberating us.”
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Friendships have grown among volunteers and residents, and between residents, and one Russian-Ukrainian couple who lived at Pristaniste recently married.
Empathy is a major factor. A recent talk in Budva by Kyiv-based journalist Olha Musafirova about her work, in Ukrainian, had Russians in the audience in tears, horrified by their country’s actions.
For Ukrainian actor Katarina Sinchillo, Russian diasporas can vary and Montenegro’s is “sensitive”.
“I think the people who live here are a somewhat different community because it’s the intelligentsia,” she says, “educated people who can’t live without the arts.”
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Russian-Ukrainian joint projects are vanishingly rare.
But Sinchillo set up a theatre here, with husband and fellow actor Viktor Koshel, using actors from all over the former Soviet Union.
Their plays are well attended, she says: “Progressive Russian people, who are helping Ukraine, go with interest and pleasure.”
Koshel says the environment here is perfect for such contacts. ”Here the countryside is heavenly, it takes you away from those urbanist, gloomy, depressive moods, political propaganda etc. You go to the sea and all that disappears.”
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They have also collaborated with veteran Russian rock musician Mikhail Borzykin, who has seen big changes in the Russian diaspora over the past three years.
Before the war, he says, “fierce arguments” about Putin in the Russian community were commonplace, but the recent influx of anti-war immigrants created a different atmosphere.
“The overwhelming majority of young people who have come here, they of course understand the horror of what’s happening, so there is agreement on the main questions,” he says.
As for the pro-Kremlin former members of Russia’s corrupt elite, who he calls the vatnaya diaspora, they are sitting quietly in the properties they bought in Montenegro years ago.
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“Conflicts are not aired in public,” he says.
Borzykin is part of a volleyball group of Russians, Belarusians and Ukrainians and says they are “all on the same wavelength”.
Despite the relatively warm welcome, the future of some immigrants remains uncertain.
Strict citizenship laws mean many of them will not be able to stay here indefinitely.
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Most Ukrainians seem keen to return home if the war ends, assuming they still have homes to go to.
“Currently there’s a huge threat to our lives, but if it ends of course we’ll go home,” says Sasha Borkov. “There’s nowhere better than home”.
But most Russians say it will take much more than the fall of the regime to persuade them to go back permanently.
Natalya Sevets-Yermolina, who comes from the northern city of Petrozavodsk, says she’s not in a hurry.
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“I have the problem that it’s not Putin that persecuted me but those little people I lived in the same city with,” she says. “Putin is far away but those who do his bidding will remain, even if he dies soon.”
Borzykin says he too is unlikely to return quickly, as attitudes could take decades to change.
“Germany needed 30 years [after the Nazis] while the new generation came along. I’m afraid I won’t have that long.”
Elston Consulting has expanded its team to meet a rising demand for its products as the popularity of its model portfolios continues to grows.
Tony Lord has joined the firm as an adviser relations manager. He has over 30 years’ experience in the industry, helping to grow platforms from launch to maturity.
Alongside Elston Consulting head of adviser relations Scott Adams, he will focus on working with new and established adviser firms to support their investment proposition.
Henry Vijayaratnam also joins as an associate in the investment research team.
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Vijayaratnam completed the Elston Summer Internship in May 2024 and will report to investment director Hoshang Daroga and head of research Henry Cobbe.
Elston Consulting said the two appointments will strengthen the group’s capabilities as it “continues to bring its model portfolios capabilities to advice firms and DFMs.”
Elston has seen increased adviser enthusiasm for the Elston Adaptive range of portfolios, designed for accumulation and Elston Retirement range of portfolios designed for decumulation.
These portfolios are managed by Elston Portfolio Management and are available across most adviser platforms.
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Cobbe said: “We are delighted to welcome Tony Lord and Henry Vijayaratnam to Elston. They will be an asset to our firm. This is an exciting time for Elston as we are seeing rapidly growing interest in the investment solutions we design.
“We are thrilled to be able to expand the team to continue serving the adviser firms we work with and supporting their investment proposition.”
Lord added: “Advisers are facing many different demands on their businesses, not least the need to provide consistent investment outcomes to their clients at a competitive cost.
“I am delighted to be joining Elston tasked with supporting advisers with their investment propositions using the high-calibre solutions Elston can develop for advisers.”
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Vijayaratnam said: “I am thrilled to be joining Elston as a permanent team member following a summer internship, in which I learned a huge amount from colleagues.
“I am looking forward to making my mark in the financial services space and progressing my career with Elston Consulting.”
Foreign Secretary David Lammy has said it was “a day of deep reflection and pain”, as he commemorated the victims of Hamas’s 7 October attack on Israel.
Lammy described the attack last year, which killed about 1,200 people, as “the worst attack on the Jewish community since the Holocaust”.
Speaking at South Tottenham Synagogue, he said he was thinking of the “many hostages that are still held in Gaza” – particularly Emily Damari, the only British-Israeli hostage still in captivity.
Ms Damari, 28, was taken into Gaza by Hamas along with 250 others. Her family have “no word of her fate or how she is doing”, Lammy added.
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A total of 97 hostages remain unaccounted for.
Israel responded to Hamas’s attack with a military campaign in Gaza, which has killed thousands in the Palestinian territory.
“This is a painful day for the Jewish community across this country and across the diaspora,” Lammy told reporters.
“It is a day of deep reflection and pain thinking about 7 October, the worst attack on the Jewish community since the Holocaust,” he added.
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Addressing a memorial event in London on Sunday, Ms Damari’s mother, Mandy Damari, said that hostages that were released last November told her they had contact with her in captivity.
“Every day is living hell not knowing what Emily is going through,” she said.
She said Britain and other countries need to do more to secure the release of her daughter and the other hostages.
“How is it that she is still imprisoned there after one year? Why isn’t the whole world, especially Britain, fighting every moment to secure her release? She’s one of their own,” she said.
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On Sunday, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said the country must “unequivocally” stand with the Jewish community and described 7 October as the “darkest day in Jewish history since the Holocaust”.
“As a father, a husband, a son, a brother – meeting the families of those who lost their loved ones last week was unimaginable. Their grief and pain are ours, and it is shared in homes across the land,” Sir Keir said.
Simply sign up to the Oil myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox.
Oil prices on Monday jumped above last week’s high amid mounting fears of escalating conflict in the Middle East.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, rose as much as 2.4 per cent to hit $79.94 a barrel, as Hamas fired rockets at Israel, which launched strikes against targets in Gaza and Lebanon.
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The price, which had dropped sharply since early April, gained more than 8 per cent last week, the biggest weekly gain since January 2023, driven by Iran’s missile attack against Israel.
Traders are concerned about a potential strike against energy infrastructure in the region that could hinder oil supplies, or disruption in the Strait of Hormuz.
There are signs that hedge funds, many of which had been betting on oil extending this year’s falls, are beginning to adjust their positioning. Funds trimmed their large short bets against Brent and increased their long positions in the week to October 1, in the early stages of last week’s rally, according to ICE data.
However, computer-driven funds that tried to latch on to market trends were likely to have still been betting against oil as of Thursday, according to a model portfolio run by Société Générale.
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Israel on Monday marked the first anniversary of Hamas’s deadly October 7 attack. Ceremonies held in southern Israel were disrupted by the group firing rockets into the territory from Gaza. Rockets also set off sirens in Tel Aviv.
The events come amid a fresh offensive by Israeli forces in northern Gaza and follow an incursion by ground troops into Lebanon, where Israel is trading fire with Iran-proxy Hizbollah.
US President Joe Biden on Thursday said Israel had discussed striking Iran’s oil facilities in retaliation for an Iranian missile barrage fired at Israel last week. He later suggested Israel should consider other options.
“If I were in their shoes, I’d be thinking about other alternatives than striking oilfields,” Biden said on Friday.
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The Islamic republic exports 1.7mn barrels of oil a day, mainly from a terminal on Kharg Island, about 25km off the country’s southern coast.
Daan Struyven, an analyst at Goldman Sachs, told clients that a six-month disruption, hitting about 1mn b/d, would push Brent up to $85 in the middle of next year if Opec offsets the shortfall. Prices could climb to the mid-$90s without an offset, he forecast.
“Investors are focused on the risk that Israel and Iran may enter a cycle of retaliatory attacks that may escalate into a broader conflict,” Struyven said.
A HUGE mansion valued at £4.5million hides an incredible secret feature behind its front doors.
The Grade II-listed property in Lymington, Hampshire, has been dubbed every child’s “dream” home.
The massive home boasts nine bedrooms, seven bathrooms, five reception rooms, a detached coach house and a south-facing garden.
However estate agents Spencers say the house is guaranteed to “liven up any dinner party” thanks to its most unusual asset – a slide from the first floor to the ground floor.
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The stainless-steel tube allows guests to descend from the first floor in style through a glass door and is designed ‘for those with a sense of fun’.
There is also a games room, library and a cinema while all the bedrooms house a full media suite and surround sound system.
The listings reads: “A second means of descending from the first floor is via a polished stainless steel tube slide which passes through a glass floor, designed for those with a sense of fun and a great talking point to liven up any dinner party.”
A Spencers spokesperson added: “It’s one of the unique houses in Lymington.
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“It’s been designed around a certain lifestyle and with a life that doesn’t take itself too seriously.
“The house itself has a huge amount of history and has been recently updated by the current owners in a particularly stylish fashion.
“Not every house that we market has an indoor slide. It’s quite fun.
“It’s the sense of fun that it brings. It’s a great family house. Good for kids. It’s really the whole package.
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Inside ‘the world’s most bling tiny home’ dubbed the Golden House with stunning ‘shimmering glass’ and ‘5-star luxury’
.”Everything has been designed around comfort and convenience. It’s designed as a house for someone to live in who wants to enjoy life.”
Spencers say the 8,000 sqft family home promises “great grandeur and history” and “imagination” and even sports a sunken ice trough “from which to serve fresh sea food or champagne”.
Many users have praised the novelty structure on social media, with one user commenting “we all dreamt of this as a kid, right?”
Another user posted: “Super cool.”
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While a third user wrote: “If I won the lottery.”
A fourth person said: “I love it.”
Another unusual home went on the market last month and it would definitely (maybe) ideal for an Oasis fan.
If those properties are out of your price range then a terraced house in New Tredegar, Wales, has gone on the market for nothing – but you may want to take a look inside first.
AMANDA Holden will be cycling 250 miles, from the edge of the country right into the heart of London.
The star’s five-day-ride is for Global’s Make Some Noise appeal which raises money for small charities across the UK.
The beloved Heart presenter has shared that you can keep up with her journey on the radio and even opened up about which brand of “bum butter” she will take along the way.
Here’s everything you need to know about Amanda’s charity cycle.
Where is Amanda Holden cycling for Global’s Make Some Noise?
The Britain’s Got Talent presenter will cycle for eight hours until she reaches Taunton, Somerset.
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Read more on Amanda Holden
After just one night to recover, she will ride to Frome, Somerset and then onto Newbury, Berkshire.
After those four gruelling days on the bike, Amanda will be on the home-stretch as she cycles towards Leicester Square where Global’s headquarters are located.
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