No, this is not “Uncle Sam Wants You” — that was 1940s America.

But apparently it’s also 2020s Russia . . . only it’s “Uncle Vladimir Wants You.” And “you” are any and all Westerners unhappy enough with your lives to buy into his snake-oil sales pitch.

In August of last year, Vladimir Putin established something called a temporary-residency visa, available to foreigners who oppose their native countries’ “destructive neoliberal ideological agenda,” and share “traditional Russian spiritual and moral values.” [Brett Forrest and Vera Bergengruen, Wall Street Journal, February 19, 2025.]

Well, that explains everything . . . everything about the Feenstra family from Canada, that is. All of my questions have now been answered — and my suspicions confirmed — as to their seemingly successful integration into Russian society, their relatively easy movement through the mass of red tape involved in becoming legal residents, their apparent financial comfort, and their popularity on social media.

In their YouTube broadcasts, they have made frequent mention of an agency in their region of Nizhny Novgorod that has been of invaluable assistance to them in navigating the Russian bureaucratic obstacle course. And they have been outspoken in their desire to welcome more and more families such as theirs to the Russian “promised land.”

What was not mentioned was the breadth of the scope of Putin’s effort to increase Russia’s population — while at the same time giving himself yet another opportunity to stick it to the West. According to official (meaning, unreliable) Russian statistics, temporary residency has been granted to nearly 5,000 Westerners since the beginning of 2022. [Id.]

A new “Welcome to Russia” office has been established to make the transitions easier, and to publicize the emigration of the Western families. And — as a final “nyah, nyah” to the U.S. — the program is headed by member of Parliament Maria Butina . . . who, before returning home for a career in politics, was convicted in U.S. Federal Court in 2018 of acting as an unregistered foreign agent and sentenced to 18 months in prison (a far cry from the sentences handed down in Russia to foreigners convicted of similar charges).

Another transplant — this one from Florida in the U.S. — is Joseph Rose. He moved to Moscow with his wife and their four children in 2022, and also broadcasts on YouTube. He has recently said:

“There is a place in this world where you can live traditional family values, like your best vision of 1950s America. That place exists right now, and it’s here in Russia.” [Id.]

Unbelievable!

Now, I can certainly understand why some people might, in these more liberal times, be searching for a place to live quietly, where they can adhere to their “traditional spiritual and moral values.” And it’s not unreasonable for them to be willing to move considerable distances to find that perfect place. If that’s the life that makes them happy, then more power to them; I hope they find their peace and joy.

But why would they ever think that Russia would be that place? Don’t they read? Have they not bothered to study a bit about Russia’s centuries-old history of autocracy, oppression, serfdom, communism? Do they not know what Vladimir Putin really stands for? Can they not see that, after 30 short years of relative freedom and an attempt to build a democratic society and a market economy, Putin has taken the country into a 180-degree turn — not just to dictatorship — but to the added tyranny of oligarchy? Have they, in their fear of “wokeness,” become deaf and blind to the truth?

It appears so. And that includes the Feenstras.

But what of the future? When, inevitably, the newness wears off, and Putin abandons them to get by as best they can without his special favors; and when their sons begin receiving military conscription notices; and when the world loses interest in their YouTube channel . . . what then?

*. *. *

In light of the number of emigres who have supposedly come to Russia in the past three years, I ask myself what makes the Feenstras so special that they have become the face of Putin’s “Welcome to Russia” program. And I believe it can be traced back to their arrival in Moscow just over a year ago, when they found their newly-opened bank account frozen, and the farm they had been promised to be non-existent. At that point, stunned and frightened, they took to mass media and told the world of their predicament, sparing no details.

And immediately, things changed. Their account was unfrozen; they were found shelter and ultimately a nice piece of farmland; and everything seemed to fall miraculously into place. And they thanked God for looking after them.

But Vladimir Putin does not like negative publicity. And I hope that Arend and Anneesa Feenstra are aware of the fact that their adopted president also has a long memory, and that their earlier tactic — going public — isn’t going to work twice.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
2/21/25