About 100 000 Russians have purchased property along the Bulgarian coast. According to Yuri Solovyov, Russian general secretary to the Russian embassy in Varna, this means that more than 300 000 Russians regularly spend their holidays in the country, given that they normally arrive with their families.

"Multiply that by the amount of money invested in real estate itself, and the tax collected by the state, in addition to the fact that many Russians don't simply spend their holidays here, but they live here, and one can see the contribution to the Bulgarian economy," Solovyov said.

Real estate investment, agricultural plots, investment opportunities, regulated land for housing

Russians generally tend to choose property along large resorts on the coast, or the Bulgarian mountains, but they also settle occasionally for a quiet, rural way of life in small villages, the report said.

"The great demand for real estate, which initially came from the UK and other English-speaking countries, is being steadily replaced by Russian-speakers," said municipal mayor Avren Todorov.

"Many Russians are seeking to buy single family homes facing the seafront or flats in the cities, as many of them have decided to outsource their business to Bulgaria and move here permanently," real estate agent Stefan Atanassov told the bTV.