- Putin has signed a decree that Russia will welcome foreigners who want to escape Western liberal ideals.
- Applicants may include those from countries unaligned with "Russian spiritual and moral values."
- The application process has been simplified, and visas will be issued as soon as next month.
Russia, in many ways an authoritarian state, has designated itself as a "safe haven" for citizens of Western countries looking to escape "destructive neoliberal ideas."
Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree that Moscow will assist any foreign nationals who want 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," Russian state media reported Monday.
People interested in temporary residency may apply for visas through a simplified and expedited process. Russia will begin issuing three-month visas as early as next month.
They can request residency based on the rejection of their home countries' "destructive neoliberal ideals," which differ from "traditional Russian spiritual and moral values." Russia is expected to produce a list of which countries are included in this exception, TASS said in its report on the new decree.
Some far-right figures and conspiracy theorists celebrated news of the new policy in a manner that aligns with a growing online trend, particularly among certain far-right personalities, of praising Russian society and comparing it positively to the US and other Western nations.
Praise for Russia has been a common occurrence among some prominent figures on the right, including former President Donald Trump, who has often spoken positively about Putin. Others have parroted Russian talking points, while others have celebrated some elements of Russian society.
In February, after giving the Russian leader a platform to spread misinformation about the war in Ukraine, former Fox News personality Tucker Carlson, went on to praise aspects of Russian society, calling it "shocking" and "disturbing" how much "nicer" Moscow was than any city in the US. He said his position was still pro-America, though.
Others influential in the online space have also shown varying degrees of admiration for Russian society as Putin tries to present Russia as a place where, as Russian state media said, "traditional values reign supreme" and condemn Western ideals.
Rhetoric of this nature has shown up in the Russian leader's speeches. In 2022, Putin criticized the West as "satanic," arguing that it had rejected "moral norms" and "traditional" values. And in his Victory Day speech in 2023, he attacked "Western globalist elites" for what he said was the destruction of "family and traditional values that make a person human."
Russia's new visa policies focused on turning the country into some kind of "safe haven" appear rooted in this kind of thinking.