Who wants to move to Russia?

On Monday, president Putin signed a decree creating a new “humanitarian” scheme. Not known for his humanitarianism, Putin’s decree is obviously nakedly political, and an attempt to paint Russia as the defender of so-called “traditional” values. The decree grants foreign citizens the right to seek residency by applying for temporary residency in Russia. Alongside this, a list of countries pursuing such an agenda is to be drawn up, akin to western lists of rogue states, in an attempt to suggest some kind of moral parallel between the two.

The Tass news agency gave further details in a statement which bore the heavy imprint of the Kremlin’s media department: “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 Vladimir Putin.”

And then something unusual happened. Over in the US, the conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, posted excitedly on social media about what he called Putin’s “bombshell” decree. “If you’re ready to reject the insane policies of your home countries that push these destructive, anti-human, neoliberal agendas,” Jones tweeted, “Russia is rolling out the red carpet!”

This is not a new policy made up on the fly by Russia, but an extension of a pre-existing attempt to lure conservative western families to the motherland. But given that Russia remains an autocratic state, run by a war-mongering despot and under significant sanctions for its invasion of Ukraine, who on earth would accept Putin’s invitation?

Meet the Feenstra family, from Canada, who made the move to Russia last year. A farming family, the Feenstras have a relatively popular YouTube account, called “Countryside Acres”. After their move, the popularity of their YouTube videos jumped from a couple of thousand views per video to more than 100,000 hits per post. The Feenstras cited Canada’s progressive stance on LGBT rights as one of the reasons why they left, also claiming that it would give them better economic opportunities. (The Feenstra’s have had struggles with their bank accounts being frozen.)

Tapping into their move, radical right news outlets focused on their story as a sign that Canada needed political and ideological change. On X/Twitter, the Feenstra’s have been used by Russian media and propaganda as a tool to demonstrate the allure of a more conservative, simpler, life.

The Feenstra’s have recently launched a political channel, giving advice to people on what it takes to live in Russia. Another defector, Joe Schutzman, also has a YouTube channel which is more overtly political. Schutzman is a conservative catholic from Kentucky, who decided to move his family to Moscow last year, again, because of worries over what he saw as America’s liberal attitude to LGBT rights. The 38-year-old father of six described the move as “a leap of faith”. The focus of his Youtube output is not on wholesome family farming, but rather on direct questions of politics and morality. Throughout his broadcasts, America is portrayed as an existential threat to a traditional way of life.

The newest and most known arrivals to Russia are the Heyer family. The Heyer’s from New York are Christians, and they also give educational and economic opportunities as the reasons for their defection. Leo Heyer, described the move as like being “put on an ark of safety”, and he thanked Putin for “allowing Russia to be a good place for families in this world climate”. His wife, Chantel Heyer, described feeling “very honoured” and “in a small way it feels like I just got married to Russia”.

There will be more defections from America to Russia. A media ecosystem now exists that tries to radicalise people into thinking this is a good idea. These apparently bizarre moves should be seen as part of a wider history of defections to authoritarian regimes, by people in search of a better life. Consider, for example, the US soldiers stationed in South Korea who have defected to the north, believing that paradise lies just beyond the zone of mines and barbed wire dividing the two very different nations. Consider also the spies of the twentieth century, such as Kim Philby, the English traitor who defected to Russia and ended up in a flat in Moscow, sodden in drink, pining for the country he left behind.

All romantic notions of utopia are fatally flawed and almost always end in tragedy. It is unlikely that the story of the Feenstras, or any of the other defectors to Putin’s Russia, will have a happy ending.