Putin Opens Russia As Haven For Westerners Fleeing 'Destructive Neoliberal Ideas'

Under a decree signed by President Vladimir Putin, Russia is relaxing temporary residence requirements for foreign citizens wishing to escape "destructive neoliberal ideas...which run counter to traditional Russian spiritual and moral values," state news agency TASS has reported. 

Under the terms of the decree, foreigners will have the privilege of applying for temporary residence "outside the quota approved by the Russian government and without providing documents confirming their knowledge of the Russian language, Russian history and basic laws."

The Russian foreign ministry has been directed to initiate the new, expedited process for obtaining three-month visas as early as September. In support of the initiative, the foreign ministry will, within 30 days, publish a list of countries that are imposing destructive ideals on their citizens in conflict with traditional values embraced in Russia. 

Those determinations will be driven by Putin's November 2022 executive order regarding "Fundamentals of State Policy to Preserve and Strengthen Traditional Russian Spiritual and Moral Values." In part, that document states:  

Traditional values include life, dignity, human rights and freedoms, patriotism, civic consciousness, service to the Fatherland and responsibility for its destiny, high moral ideals, strong families, productive labour, the primacy of the spiritual over corporeal, humanism, charity, justice, collectivism, mutual assistance and mutual respect, historical memory and the continuity of generations, as well as the unity of Russia’s peoples.

TASS notes that, in February, Putin commented approvingly on Italian student Irene Cecchini's proposal that Russia relax its residency rules for foreigners who embrace traditional values. In June, Cecchini was a panelist at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, at a session titled "Time to Live in Russia." She studied at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations. 

In May 2023, Russia announced it would build a village near Moscow to accommodate immigrating conservative Americans and Canadians. At the time, Russian immigration lawyer Timur Beslangurov told RIA Novosti that such people were eager to emigrate because of the "propaganda of radical values: Today they have 70 genders, and who knows what will come next. Many normal people emigrate and are considering Russia, but they’re faced with huge bureaucratic problems with Russia’s migration law." Putin's new decree is apparently a first step in cutting that red tape. 

As for Putin's suggestion that Western values are eroding, could he be referring to the routine appearance of creatures like this at school board meetings and at the front of classrooms?

...or maybe President Biden's appointment of luggage-stealing, dress-wearing, puppy-play freak Sam Brinton (left) to a high post managing nuclear waste?  

...or perhaps VP candidate and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz's mandate that schools stock boys' bathrooms with tampons?

We could go on for days, but we'll leave you with this depiction of a Russian family that chose the reverse path of relocation: