Vladimir Putin has introduced special visas to facilitate the settlement in Russia of foreign citizens who share traditional Russian values and reject neoliberal ideology. The country claims to have already received several applications from Germany, Italy and the United States.
Question asked on October 5 by venusiabien
French citizens fleeing Western decadence will be well received in Putin’s Russia. At the end of August 2024, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree aimed at facilitating the arrival in Russia of foreigners fleeing the“neoliberal ideology” of their country. This text “on the provision of humanitarian support to people who share traditional Russian spiritual and moral values” allowed these foreigners to apply for a temporary residence permit in Russia, without having to prove their mastery of the language and their knowledge of Russian laws and without any quota being applied to them.
Irony or not, a reader saying he was interested in a move from “decadent France” asked us if any details had been provided by Moscow regarding this promise of spiritual asylum.
The only thing missing from this decree of August 19, 2024 was the detailed list of countries deemed decadent by the Russian government. This list of 47 countries was revealed on September 17 in an order from the Russian government “on approval of the list of foreign states implementing policies imposing destructive neoliberal ideological guidelines that contradict traditional Russian spiritual and moral values”.
Hungary missing from the list of decadent countries
Unsurprisingly, France is one of 37 European countries (Albania, Germany, Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Croatia, Denmark, Spain, Estonia , Finland, France, Greece, Ireland, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, North Macedonia, Malta, Monaco, Montenegro, Norway, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Czech Republic, United Kingdom (including Crown Dependencies and British Overseas Territories), Romania, San Marino, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland and Ukraine). In America, three countries are cited: the United States, Canada and the Bahamas. In Asia, four countries are designated: South Korea, Japan, Singapore and Taiwan. Three countries from Oceania are also on the list: Australia, New Zealand and Micronesia. No country in Africa is on this list of decadent countries.
Note: the only country in the European Union not on this list is Hungary, led by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán since 2010. The Hungarian leader is known in Europe for claiming to be an “illiberal democracy” and to be open to dialogue with Vladimir Putin, whom he met in July 2024 to negotiate peace in Ukraine without consulting the EU.
To be able to travel to Russia, citizens of the 47 countries concerned must complete an application in which they sign that “the motive of [leur] moving to Russia is the rejection of the policy implemented by the state of [leur] citizenship, which imposes ideological orientations that are contrary to traditional Russian spiritual and moral values. They must then provide a copy of their passport and a health insurance certificate.
“The majority of candidates are citizens of Germany, Italy, the United States, Australia, Romania, Latvia and Lithuania”
In a press release published on October 4, the Main Directorate of Migration Affairs of the Russian Interior Ministry indicates that “based on the results of the first week” after the publication of the list of countries concerned by this facilitated visa, “applications from citizens of these states were submitted to Moscow and the Moscow region, [des] territories of Primorsky and Krasnodar, regions of Briansk, Kirov and Orenburg». Without indicating any figures, the Russian authorities assure that “the majority of candidates are citizens of Germany, Italy, the United States, Australia, Romania, Latvia and Lithuania”.
Information concerning the number of requests may have been given by the Russian authorities in a sparse manner, according to requests from the foreign press or communications from Russian consulates. So on October 3, the Russian embassy in Denmark claimed to have received ten to twelve requests from people living in Denmark. On September 14, before the publication of the list of countries concerned, the Russian embassy in the United Kingdom indicated that it had received “34 requests from foreign citizens requesting clarification on the procedure for issuing temporary residence permits in our country in accordance with the decree of the President of the Russian Federation”. Such communications did not take place in France.
Contacted by CheckNewsthe Russian embassy in France did not respond to our request concerning the number of requests made in France and in the 47 countries concerned. We will update this article if there is a response.
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