Conservatives love Russia.
That was true well before the invasion of Ukraine. Russia under Putin has spent years positioning itself as a defender of traditional Christian values, a bulwark against the weak and decadent West, and a pure white ethnostate.
This 2017 report from Right Wing Watch shows how both white supremacists and the religious right noticed what Putin was doing, and liked it:
For Richard Spencer, the coiner of the term “Alt-Right” and a leader of the emerging white nationalist faction it represents, Russia is both the “sole” and “most powerful white power in the world.” Matthew Heimbach, head of the white nationalist Traditionalist Worker Party—and someone who, like Spencer, desires the creation of a whites-only nation-state within the U.S.—believes Russian President Vladimir Putin is the “leader of the free world,” one who has helped morph Russia into an “axis for nationalists.” Harold Covington, the white supremacist head of the secessionist Northwest Front, recently described Russia as the “last great White empire.” And former Ku Klux Klan Imperial Wizard David Duke has said he believes Russia holds the “key to white survival.”
…Since he returned to the presidency in 2012, Putin has made a concerted effort to establish his country as a center for religious, especially Christian, conservatives throughout the world, most notably for those who oppose any legal or public support for same-sex relationships. This shift has taken the form of legislation that prioritizes the interests of the Russian Orthodox Church, that rolls back abortion rights, and that sidelines attempts within the LGBT community to obtain any kind of societal acceptance.
While they’ve praised Putin on many occasions, most American conservatives had to admire Russia from a distance. Those few who tried to move there have had a bad time, largely because of the language barrier and Russian bureaucracy.
But those days may soon be over. Good news for anti-woke Western conservatives: Russia’s state-owned news agency, TASS, has announced that Putin is throwing open the doors.
Russia offers safe haven for people trying to escape Western liberal ideals
…Moscow will provide assistance to any foreigners who want to escape the neoliberal ideals being put forward in their countries and move to Russia, where traditional values reign supreme, according to a decree signed by President Vladimir Putin.
Under the document, such foreign nationals will have the right to apply for temporary residence in Russia “outside the quota approved by the Russian government and without providing documents confirming their knowledge of the Russian language, Russian history and basic laws.”
Some American conservatives are ecstatic. Alex Jones, for example, was overjoyed:
BREAKING: PUTIN JUST DROPPED A BOMBSHELL DECREE—INVITING PEOPLE FROM ACROSS THE GLOBE WHO ARE FED UP WITH THE GLOBALIST, NEOLIBERAL NIGHTMARE TO SEEK SANCTUARY IN TRADITIONAL RUSSIA!
This new decree blows the lid off the establishment’s agenda, letting freedom-loving folks bypass the usual bureaucratic nonsense like language tests or history exams. If you’re ready to reject the insane policies of your home countries that push these destructive, anti-human, neoliberal agendas, Russia is rolling out the red carpet!
The Russian government is about to compile a list of countries poisoning minds with these twisted ideals, and the Foreign Ministry is gearing up to issue visas to true patriots as soon as September! It’s time to stand up for spiritual and moral values!
Yep – if you love freedom, move to Russia! Forget those twisted, neoliberal ideals like “the right to protest” and “the right to oppose the government” and “the right to practice your own religion“. Russia has something much better: the freedom to agree with the Great Leader about everything at all times. And if you disagree, you’re free to “mysteriously” die by falling out a window!
Could Alex Jones be serious about moving? If so, how many others feel the same way? Are we going to see an exodus of religious-right figures packing their bags and buying one-way tickets to Moscow, fleeing Western liberalism for Putin’s warm embrace?
If they really want to go, I won’t stand in their way. (Insert Willy Wonka meme here.) However, for the sake of my own conscience, there’s one thing I’d encourage them to consider first.
Putin’s three-day invasion of Ukraine is dragging on into its third year, and Russia is reeling from a casualty toll that now surpasses 600,000 dead and wounded. Russian soldiers are dying in the trenches every day, getting blown up by Ukrainian drones and artillery, or being sent to their deaths in human-wave assaults. There’s no doubt that Putin desperately needs more bodies to fight his war. Where better to obtain them than to throw open the doors to willing Western dupes? Entice them to come, and once they’re settled in, inform them that they’re subject to conscription.
The fate of Russell Bentley is instructive. He was a Texan who admired Vladimir Putin and believed Russian propaganda about how Ukraine was under the thumb of Nazis. He emigrated to Russia and joined the Russian army to fight in Ukraine. Then he had a falling out with his fellow soldiers (for reasons unclear, although I’ve seen reports suggesting they suspected him of being an American spy). According to Ukraine war journalist ChrisO, they arrested him and tortured him to death.
Any conservative who’s tempted by Putin’s offer isn’t likely to listen to me. Still, if you’re thinking of moving to Russia, you’d better ask yourself: is there even the slightest possibility that Putin isn’t doing this out of altruism, but because he needs fresh meat for the grinder? Are you willing to risk that for yourselves – and your kids?
My conscience would not be bothered one iota if they all moved to Russia. Good riddance to bad rubbish. I would, however, feel very sorry for the children who wouldn’t have a choice if their idiot parents migrated and forced them into such a bad situation.
That’s where I’m at, too. I wouldn’t feel bad for Alex Jones or any of his ilk if they went to Russia and ended up getting drafted – but some of these religious right people have kids. Bad enough having to grow up in Russia; imagine the nightmare that would ensue if any of them are gay or trans and in the closet.
I recall a Canadian fundy family moving to Russia a few years back with their fifty-eleven kids because they didn’t want their children exposed to the idea that gay people exist in Canada. They packed up and paid the entrance fee and moved…and were back not long afterward because they didn’t bother to learn the language before they left, and they weren’t welcomed as “FREEDOM heroes” ™ by the locals. And, unlike Canada, Russia doesn’t have a social safety net that boosts families up from poverty, and the family had no way to support themselves.
And, unlike Canada, Russia doesn’t have a social safety net that boosts families up from poverty, and the family had no way to support themselves.
IIRC the USSR had one of those…not that they’d have allowed a bunch of foreign defectors move in and take advantage of it — unless said defectors had already done some work for the regime…
I would love to see a Venn diagram showing the intersection of Americans who claim to be patriots and Americans who support Putin.
Katydid@2 the family in question moved to Russia only in 2023 if I’m not mistaken. Supposedly the Russians were going to deport them because they came in on a tourist visa but I can’t find out whether they actually came back to Canada. Interestingly their eldest son, who is an adult, didn’t go with the family but stayed in Saskatchewan. Sounds like maybe he’s smarter than his parents.
Dear Alex:
When are you leaving? Don’t let the doorknob hit you in the ass on your way out. Bon voyage.
@tim gueguen, 4: I googled it and found a lot of articles in yahoo and msn and other sources that all contradict each other. I found nothing that said they were deported or on a tourist visa. In short, they foolishly feared that their homeschooled children were not safe in Canada because LGBTQ and brown people exist, so they sold their possessions, moved to Russia where they were promised a home and a job that didn’t exist. Of course they didn’t bother to learn any Russian before they left. The Russian bank they put their money in froze their assets and they may never get them back, particularly since they don’t speak a word of Russian and can’t argue effectively for themselves. The wife complained about it on a Youtube channel they have, and the authorities paid them a visit.
In short, Russia was not the Christian paradise on earth that they were expecting. Which 10 minutes of research might have shown them before they sold everything and moved there. But there’s a certain type of person who hates educating themselves and holds onto ridiculous ideas and expects the world to conform to those ideas.
Uncle Vladimir wants you… to feed you into the Donbass meat grinder.
People who volunteer to fight for Putin tend to end up dead.
Besides, it’s far easier to be a grifter in the US. More relatively wealthy victims to prey on, and less official attention.
In Russie, people who annoy the authorities end up in prison; a guilty verdict to whatever charge is a foregone conclusion. Look at what happened to Igor Girkin.
So I don’t see Alex Jones or any of his ilk going.
Let them all move to Russia, and we’ll take all the liberal Russians. Guess who’ll come out on top.
Are any of the Westerners currently planning to defect to Russia even worth drafting? Or will they just draft whatever kids the defectors bring?
Yes, the most effective way to make America great is clearly to move to Russia, and take all your family and assets with you. Very logic. Much sense.
The USSR did have something of a safety net: schoolkids got free meals and could stay after school for help (and a warm dinner). Books and public transportation and entertainment like plays and ballet and opera were very, very inexpensive. All citizens qualified for a free visit to a “rest home” (vacation spot, many in hotels on the Black Sea). But after the USSR fell, Russia turned into a winner-takes-all kleptocracy.