It’s as though he’s been reading my mind . . . or my blog.

In a post on April 6th, Arend Feenstra finally addressed a number of the questions that have been on my mind since he and his family left Russia for an extended stay back in Canada. And it seems that a number of other followers of the Feenstra clan have been thinking along the same lines.

In this latest video — in which Arend mentions that it was being filmed on March 12th — he finally talks about the main reason for the trip, how all of the children are doing, and their plans for the immediate and long-term future.

What it all comes down to, as he explains it, is money. Stressing that they receive no subsidies from the Russian government, he says that they have thus far been living off of their savings — which obviously won’t last forever.

(I might interject here that they have previously indicated other minor sources of income in Russia, such as the sale of some of their farm products; and it seems likely that they receive payment for advertising various products and commercial enterprises on their video broadcasts. But it’s probably not enough to sustain a family of ten.)

At any rate, it seems that, for all of its perceived advantages, Russia is not an easy place in which to earn an honest living. Despite the cost of their months-long visit to Canada and the U.S. — the round-trip plane fare alone cost $25,000 — he says he has been able to earn enough by working nearly non-stop to cover the costs and build up a little nest-egg to carry them through until they begin earning a profit from their farm in Nizhny Novgorod.

He began by working on his brother’s farm in Ontario. Even throughout the family’s road trip through the U.S., he was able to work from time to time for various friends and acquaintances along the way. And two of the older children — Cora and Wes — remained back in Ontario, working to earn a bit more money for the family. Now Arend is working for a friend who has a contract doing major renovations to a hospital, including plumbing, electrical and insulation work.

In response to inquiries from viewers, he said that the younger children, who are home-schooled, have been keeping up with their studies while on this journey. He feels that home schooling has numerous advantages over regular schooling, and he may be correct. But realistically, his children may not even be eligible to enter Russian schools as yet, based on their residency status, language proficiency, and other requirements.

Then he put to rest any questions his viewers might have about the family’s return to Russia, assuring us that they can’t wait to get home to their farm, that they love living in Russia, and that their decision to move there was “the best thing we could have done.”

And he took the opportunity to compare life in Canada today to life in Russia. According to what he has observed and heard during their stay, some 80 percent of Canadians are just $200 away from being broke, with many people now living in their cars, and some 50 percent borrowing money to buy groceries. He did not cite a source for those figures, which sound a bit exaggerated to me. He did say — which makes more sense — that the gap between rich and poor in Canada is widening, with the cost of living increasing and wages not keeping pace. However, that seems to be the case throughout the world.

What he didn’t mention was that, by all indications, the same is true in Russia. Indeed, he said that people in Russia actually have more disposable income, and that, while there are of course some poor people, there is a much larger middle class. (Again, from all reliable reports, I would question that.)

And in a message to people in Russia and elsewhere who might still think of North America as a better place to live, he said that — while that was once the case — it’s no longer true.

Conversely, he said that he has met a lot of people during the past few months who are interested in moving to Russia, because life here has become what he called “unsustainable.” So it seems that he has continued on his mission to do a bit of proselytizing along the way.

*. *. *

What is my take from all of this? Basically, it’s the same as it has been for the two years that I’ve been following the Feenstras’ progress: that, while they may have had valid personal reasons for wanting to leave Canada, their choice of a new home was not a good one.

Russia is, always has been, and — at least for the foreseeable future — will continue to be a country ruled by autocrats and tyrants, where freedom is not by any means guaranteed but is subject to the whim of one man, and where the rules change without notice.

It is also, now, a country at war, with a tenuous economy; under punishing sanctions by most of the free world; and boasting a paranoid political pariah named Putin at the head of the government.

But Arend summed up their decision by saying that “God has a plan for us to be there, whatever he has in store.”

And I wish them the best of luck.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
4/8/26