The late Sir Winston Churchill once famously described Russia as “a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma.”

And he nailed it, all right! Like these matryoshka dolls — nested one inside another inside another — Russia is many-layered, with always another surprise hidden inside.

Which is why I firmly believe — despite their cheery outward appearances on their YouTube broadcasts — that the Feenstra family is in for a rude awakening in the not-too-distant future. And I worry about them.

After a very rocky start on arriving in Russia — during which their bank account was frozen, they were crammed into a one-room Soviet-style apartment with no sign of the farm they had been promised, and they were informed that they might not be allowed to stay because they did not speak Russian — the discouraged matriarch of the family, Anneesa Feenstra, broadcast that she hated it there and wanted to go home.

Then she publicly apologized. And suddenly, and quite miraculously, all of their problems seemed to vanish. Their funds were released to them, and they found themselves on a large, fertile piece of farmland where they have been building a big house and outbuildings, growing vegetables, driving a new van big enough for their family of ten, obtaining all of the assistance and materials they need . . . and even being told that the law had been changed concerning the language requirement!

All doors were suddenly open to them . . . including the “door” to international telecommunications in the form of a YouTube channel, when most independent media have been silenced. So we are now able to hear daily from the Feenstras — primarily Arend — and witness their progress as they build their dream life in the land of endless opportunity: Russia.

With big, toothy smiles plastered on all ten of their faces, they guide us through the days of hard work: hammering, sawing, hauling, painting, ploughing, planting, harvesting . . . They didn’t come to Russia seeking an easy life; they were farmers in Canada, accustomed to hard work. And they seem to thrive on it.

But there’s always time for the daily propaganda . . . er, YouTube broadcast . . . which — while occasionally including a problem or a glitch of some sort — always has a happy ending, and a mention or two of how blessed they are to be living in Vladimir Putin’s Russia. They even managed to hoist a big Russian flag in honor of their new homeland at the entrance to their property.

And yesterday Arend Feenstra spoke of the “great day” they had had, first attending a meeting at OKA. I didn’t know what that was, so I looked it up and found that it is an agency in Nizhny Novgorod designated to assist foreigners wishing to move to Russia. There have been earlier reports showing the Feenstras greeting newly-arriving families from Canada and the U.S., as though they may actually be acting as a welcoming committee, perhaps for OKA (though that was not mentioned). In fact, the purpose of yesterday’s “meeting” was not specified at all.

And after that — or perhaps as part of the OKA event — was a talk by one Maria Putina, who, speaking in English, introduced herself as a “lawmaker” with the Ministry of Foreign Relations (described by Arend Feenstra as the “Foreign Relations Committee”) and offered her services to assist with any problems the country’s newest residents might encounter.

Whether these “meetings” are required or voluntary is not clear. What is obvious is that the Russian government is still very much a part of the Feenstras’ lives . . . and likely to remain so.

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The broadcast then segued to their stop, on the way home from the business part of their day, to pick up a slew of packages that had arrived for them from friends — apparently, some of them being from fans of their YouTube programs. These contained a brand-new sewing machine, a sewing basket filled with accessories, and a lot of clothes — mostly warm wraps, gloves, and lots of socks. It appears these generous donations are a substantial part of what’s been keeping the family supplied with necessities they might otherwise find it difficult to obtain.

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There seems to be a big push in Moscow these days to encourage immigration from many parts of the world, unlike so many countries that have been discouraging it for reasons of security or economic concerns. And the Feenstras — with their ready-made family of eight healthy, hard-working children, eager to blend into the conservative lifestyle of their adopted country — are the perfect face of that movement.

They’re very outspoken about their religious and moral beliefs. But what about their political views? Do they even have any? That is never mentioned. How do they feel about the war in Ukraine? That is best not talked about at all. Do they even know anything about Putin’s territorial ambitions? I doubt it.

As long as they continue to live the life they prefer on the farm, and remain the well-behaved, favorite emigre family of their new president, they’ll be fine. But fame fades, and one day a new family from another country will come along to take the torch from them and run with it. Or there will be a change of focus in the administration, or perhaps even a change of leadership.

And then, when the Feenstras are just another large family living on the Russian economy . . . well, then what do those eight children have to look forward to?

Life is always something of a crap shoot. But in Russia, it’s usually a bit heavier on the crap.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
11/29/24