Russia offers a "shared values visa". It is for people from the West who believe that their home countries are too liberal on issues of family, religion, homosexuality. The embassy in Bulgaria also offers it.
"Visa for a private visit for persons sharing traditional Russian spiritual and moral values" - such an opportunity for traveling to the Russian Federation is offered by the Russian embassy in Bulgaria. According to the description on the embassy's website, “these visas are issued for entry into the Russian Federation for the purpose of subsequent application to the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs with a request for a temporary residence permit in the country“.
A similar visa was also used by Australian Russell, who boasts about the document on his YouTube channel. “I have three years to live here and find a job“, the man says. In the video, he boasts that he has dreamed of going to Russia since he was a child. And he was the first Australian to do so with a “shared values visa“.
If you don't agree with your country's politics, come on
The video already has over 45 thousand views, and on social networks other people from the West also share their longing to live in Russia. Among the main arguments - the development of their home countries in terms of family, religion, LGBTI rights and migration, which were too liberal for them.
The “shared values visa“, also known in English as “Anti-Woke Visa“ - i.e. against the Woke movement, is aimed precisely at this group. This type of document was created in August 2024 by decree of President Vladimir Putin.
Citizens of European countries, Australia, Japan and some other countries can apply for it. They do not have to prove that they know Russian or that they are familiar with the culture or laws in Russia. However, applicants must declare that they do not agree with the policies of their home country. The visa is usually issued for three years and can be extended.
A refuge from the "decadent West"
"First of all, this policy is symbolic," says sociologist Katharina Blum. And the message is aimed at both domestic and foreign audiences. "Russia shows its own citizens positive stories about Western immigrants: "Look, there are people who come to us because we give them what they lack in the decadent West. They also want to return to Christian values."
Moscow says to the West: "You can come to us if that bothers you. We represent a better Europe - a Europe of patriotism, of traditional values and roles, which are no longer found elsewhere." But in addition to symbolism, Russia's serious demographic problems also play an important role, says Blum. The Russian population has been declining for years, and despite state subsidies, the birth rate remains too low. Russia's aggressive war in Ukraine has led to large losses and further emigration, especially of young Russians.
An attempt to solve demographic problems?
That's why families like the Feenstrass, who emigrated from Canada to Russia with their eight children, are more than welcome. On social media, they talk in detail about their new lives. Father Arend explains in one of the videos: “Russia is one of the few countries that is still safe for traditional Christian families.“ In addition, in Canada it was becoming increasingly difficult to feed your family, while in Russia their financial situation was better.
The online platforms that advertise the so-called Shared values visas also use similar arguments and advertise low taxes, free education, excellent healthcare and a lower cost of living.
All this finds its addressees in Western countries. According to a spokeswoman for the Russian Interior Ministry, by May this year, i.e. nine months after its introduction, 1,156 people had applied for the “shared values visa“, the largest group of whom - 224 in number - were Germans. But this is unlikely to be enough to solve Russia's demographic problem.
Is Russian state television behind the videos?
At first glance, the number of Western immigrants in Russia seems large, and this is probably due to the fact that Russian state media widely covers their stories as extremely successful. The activities of bloggers on social media who emigrated from the West to Russia for moral reasons are also partly supported or even directed by Moscow.
For example, the opposition Russian publication "Important Stories", whose editorial office is in Latvia, reported in March that the Russian television channel RT, whose programs are intended for foreign audiences and which is under sanctions in many Western countries, is funding videos on social media in which expatriates praise Russia and criticize the West. According to the publication's investigations, the "Russian Road" channel on YouTube, which publishes exactly such videos, is actually run by employees of Russian state television.
Such propaganda is not surprising, especially for Russia. During the American election campaign, Moscow even hired actors to shoot staged videos. Katarina Blum also sees the "shared values visa" as part of the Russian propaganda machine. Moscow clearly combines these goals with the desire to attract "the right" foreigners to its country to counteract its demographic problems.