Not to worry: it’s still the Feenstras’ farm — Countryside Acres — in rural Nizhny Novgorod, Russia. But, as we learned recently, another family has moved into their newly-built guest house: Justin and Anita Pulley and their four young children, from Australia by way of the rugged Altai region of southern Siberia.

But, other than the fact that they will be living and working on the farm with the Feenstra clan, and that they have been in Russia longer and speak Russian more fluently than the Feenstras, not much else was revealed about them. So of course, I went digging. And I found them on YouTube.

It turns out that the Feenstras aren’t the only, or even the first, immigrant social media stars transplanted to the land of the tsars and the commissars. Although the Pulleys don’t really qualify as “stars.” The video from Altai in 2021 in which Justin and Anita answer questions about themselves lacked the pizazz of a Feenstra presentation. They merely sat and spoke to the camera; there was no activity; no children (they had three at the time) were in sight, other than an infant being swaddled, totally hidden, against Anita’s chest.

But they were personable and likable, and offered a good bit of information about their backgrounds and how they had landed in Siberia.

Like the Feenstras, their story indicated that they are conservative Christians, farmers, and believers in the joys of a large family. Justin was a carpenter and builder in Australia; Anita worked as a waitress and barista, and then for the Australian postal service. Both had worked from about age 15.

Justin first came to Russia in 2013 with a group that included the man who would eventually become his father-in-law; their purpose was to help build a church for a religious group. Justin said it was then that he realized he had harbored “a few misconceptions about what Russia was like,” and that it had “moved forward” since the 1990s. He returned in 2014, and decided he wanted eventually to live there.

The couple have been married since 2017, and have four children, three of them born in Russia. The video I watched — made four years ago — focused mainly on their backgrounds, and didn’t offer much insight into what they had accomplished since arriving in a mountainous area of Russia bordering Kazakhstan, Mongolia, and China.

But Justin did say that their goal was to start a farming enterprise, first as a family business and later to expand. He added that they would appreciate any support they might receive from viewers — whether just by clicking “like” and “share” on their Facebook or Telegram posts, or financially by contributions via PayPal (the link was provided at the end of the video).

During the filming session, Justin had been sipping from what appeared to be a stainless steel, drip-proof, thermal travel mug. Seeming suddenly to realize that he was holding it in his hand, he held it up and launched into a demonstration of its usefulness, its excellent design and construction, and its easy cleanability. Finally, while making sure that the name on the mug was facing the camera, he offered a disclaimer: “They are not sponsoring us; we are just very happy with the product.”

It was the perfect infomercial . . . much like the ones we see from Arend Feenstra — though Arend’s are presented a bit more subtly — for everything from tractors to insulation material to chicken feed to the (not-so-subtle) phone number of the regional immigration help center.

*. *. *

I will need to watch more of the Pulleys’ videos to learn what they’ve been up to during the past four years, and to search out some answers to the questions that naturally come to mind, such as:

> Why dd they leave Altai for Nizhny Novgorod? Was it voluntary, and if so, how did they connect with the Feenstras?

> If they were ordered to move, why? And why to the Feenstra farm? Did Arend Feenstra request help from the government, or is this part of a specific agricultural program?

> If Arend Feenstra asked for help and received it, what kind of influence does he have that he was able to make it happen?

> Or if it was due to an official order, how did the Feenstras feel about having to build a house for — and have their private lives invaded by — six complete strangers?

As always in Russia, there are far more questions than we can expect answers to. But one thing is clear: Vladimir Putin is making the most of this inexplicable influx of immigrant families from Canada, the U.S., Australia, and probably other countries as well.

Perhaps he’s just trying to replace the thousands of people he’s deporting back to Central Asia.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
8/28/25