The people leaving the West behind in search of the Russian dream

Submission statement: After the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine and the subsequent rupture with the "collective West", Russia launched a special visa dubbed "Shared Values" in order to attract immigrants from "unfriendly countries" who sought to escape their home countries' "destructive neoliberal ideology".

During the consolidation of Vladimir Putin's rule over Russia, the country's state apparatus pivoted away from relative overtures to the West towards a confrontational, adversial stance manifesting through hybrid warfare against "unfriendly countries". This fight was taken to the cultural field, with Russia now presenting itself as a stronghold of "traditional values" – God, Family, Fatherland – appealing to Western conservatives, finding powerful spokespersons such as former star TV host Tucker Carlson, or former Conservative Party candidate Philip Hutchinson, who is directly involved in the immigration process.

As part of this cultural fight, Russia established in 2024 a 'Shared Values" visa aiming to attract Western conservatives who felt "alienated" by their home countries' defense of LGBT+ rights, social liberalism, immigration and multiculturalism. The program offers three-year residency and waives usual requirements for mastery of the Russian language.

Two years on, the program has attracted, according to the Kremlin, 3,500 applicants, mainly from Germany, the US, France, Italy and the Baltic countries in heavily propagandized "asylum ceremonies", but testimonies from applicants paint a grim picture: without financial or housing assistance from the Russian state, frequently targeted by scams and fraud, they feel comfortable with Russia's "cultural values" and Russians' welcoming attitudes, but complain of decreasing living standards and lack of freedom of speech.

Not even mentioning those who get drafted to fight in Ukraine.

The claimed 3,500 applicants from the West should also be compared to the estimated 900,000 Russians who fled their country since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and to the thousands of men and women from the "global South" who are lured into entrapment in dangerous jobs as manufacturers of weapons or meat cannon on the frontlines.