Videos of Germans who have discovered their "traditional values" in Russia are becoming a hit on social networks, and the Russian authorities are facilitating their resettlement. Is this a mass practice or a carefully created propaganda myth?
Videos of Germans who have moved to Russia in search of "traditional values" have been watched by hundreds of thousands of users on TikTok and YouTube. These people are invited to state television, and the Russian media are talking about "mass resettlement" of foreigners in Russia. And the Russian authorities are actively helping such foreigners. In August 2024, Vladimir Putin signed a decree "On providing humanitarian support to persons who share traditional Russian spiritual and moral values“.
Under this decree, foreigners can obtain a permit for temporary residence in Russia under a simplified procedure – without quotas, without an exam in the Russian language and history of the country. And in December 2025, Putin signed another decree – on providing assistance in the resettlement of foreigners with achievements in various fields – from culture to sports. But is there really a mass migration of residents from Western countries, in particular from Germany, to Russia? Who are these people and why are they moving?
How to live peacefully in a country that is at war?
Russian television channels love to tell stories about immigrants who do not have Russian roots. Thus, the spouses Remo and Birgit Kirsch, who moved from Berlin to the Nizhny Novgorod region, became the heroes of dozens of reports on this topic.
In an interview with When asked by DW about the reasons for his migration, Remo spent a long time reflecting on the decline of values in the West, on “gender politics” and LGBTI, but he could never articulate how all this had affected him personally. “We want to live in peace, we want to live in the countryside, in comfort and not be part of this system,” Remo said. Apparently, he sees no contradiction in wanting a peaceful life in a country that is at war at the same time.
Russian citizenship without complicated procedures
In 2021, Kirsch sold his construction business in Germany and bought several hectares of land in the Nizhny Novgorod region to build an ecological settlement of eight houses on it for migrants like him, as well as for agricultural activities. However, his closeness to the Russian authorities is obvious: he recently became an advisor to the governor of the Nizhny Novgorod region and received a Russian citizenship through a special procedure by decree of the Russian president.
German media write that Kirsch is part of a propaganda network that works for the positive image of Russia. However, he claims that this is how he sees reality and denies receiving benefits in return. As for the citizenship he received, Remo admits that this is “a kind of reward”.
Remo Kirsch is not the only one who has received a Russian passport in this way, bypassing official procedures. German citizen Maxim Zhitnikov, a chef by profession, requested a Russian passport directly from Vladimir Putin in a video conference in April 2025, and only a month later received the desired document, although this procedure usually takes several years.
Zhitnikov also claims that he left Germany (in 2023) because of “non-traditional values” and for the sake of his children. However, it was later revealed that he had problems with his business himself: he was a co-owner of the company Schwarze Rose Gastronomie GmbH, which operated restaurants in the city of Essen, which - due to debts - was closed by a bailiff in 2015. In 2021, after bankruptcy proceedings, the company was closed.
The myth that there is “legal arbitrariness“ in Germany
According to an analysis by the “Civil Assistance“ committee, a large part of those who are now leaving for Russia are descendants of ethnic Germans who, after the collapse of the USSR, Germany accepted from the former Soviet republics. These are mainly people who, for some reason, have not been able to integrate into their new homeland.
Among them, for example, is Katharina Minnich, who moved to Russia in 2016. According to her, the reason is that the Child and Youth Welfare Office (Jugendamt) "took" her two daughters. One - Alina - remained in Germany, and the other - Melissa - the mother managed to "save" by taking her with her to Russia. The Russian media gave wide publicity to the story of the Minnich family. However, it later became known that Melissa returned to Germany as soon as she came of age. And more details came to light: while Katarina was telling her story on a Russian talk show, journalists contacted her daughter Melissa via Skype, who told on the air how her parents beat her, her brother and sisters, and then assured that "she will never live with her father and mother again and does not even want to see them." Konstantin Troitsky, an analyst at "Civil Assistance", said on this occasion that stories about some kind of legal arbitrariness in Germany, which supposedly allows children to be taken away from their parents, are very common in the Russian media. However, official statistics show that deprivation of parental rights in Russia is practiced much more often than in Germany. Also, in Russia, parental rights are more often taken away, instead of just being limited, as in Germany.
Bloggers and NGOs on a salary from Russia?
Many of the recent immigrants are actively talking about their new life in Russia on social media, including in German. Videos with such content by blogger Lisa Graf have been viewed by hundreds of thousands. But journalists from the publication “Important Stories” revealed that Lisa, like some other foreign bloggers, do not travel around Russia alone, but are invited to press conferences organized by State Duma deputy Maria Butina - the face and founder of the “Welcome to Russia“ foundation.
Among the co-founders and partners of this organization are also those who purposefully work with Germany. Such as Martin Held and his NGO “My Russia“. They provide information about moving, organize Russian language courses and trips to Russia. The website of “My Russia“ says that they have over 170,000 inquiries about moving to Russia. However, it is not clear whether these are inquiries from different people and how many of them have actually moved to Russia.
The activities of Held and his NGO, as well as those of many other bloggers and projects for migrants in Russia, are sponsored by the Russian state propaganda channel RT, journalists from “Important Stories“ and the Austrian publication “Der Standart“ have found. According to them, Held may have received nearly half a million euros from RT for his activities. In a written response to a DW inquiry, Martin Held categorically denied these accusations: “Neither I personally nor any of my companies or projects have ever received any money, benefits or other benefits from the state authorities of the Russian Federation, in particular from RT. “My Russia“ is not a political project“.
In close cooperation with the Russian authorities
And Held is not the only one who helps Maria Butina transfer Germans to Russia. Among the partners of Butina's fund are the organization “The Way Home“ of Anatoly Bublik and the recruitment agency “OKA“ of Jacob Pinnecker, which is engaged in attracting foreign specialists to Russia.
On the website “The Way Home“ There are instructions for moving, how to send money, how to exchange driver's licenses, and also articles with titles like: "Will concentration camps for Russians appear in Europe?" The organization declares itself to be a "national-patriotic project on a voluntary basis," but it obviously works very closely with the Russian state. Bublik has spoken about his work with "Rossotrudnichestvo" in numerous interviews, but refused to give an interview to DW.
OKA also works closely with regional Russian authorities. The agency is located in Nizhny Novgorod. On the OKA website you can find out why you should move to Russia, and arguments include, for example, new career opportunities, the availability of fertile land, and even ... surfing. However, not a single word is mentioned about the war waged against Ukraine or the repression of dissidents.
In an interview with DW, Pinneker said that people are not afraid to travel to Russia - despite cases in which foreigners have been detained and imprisoned for speaking out against the war. He emphasizes that the people OKA works with are "not politically engaged": "People come here to sort out their personal lives, they want to build a career, buy houses, raise their children," he says. The prospect of being drafted into the army and ending up on the front in Ukraine does not particularly worry foreigners who come to Russia," Pinneker added. "Such questions certainly exist, but they mainly concern citizens of the Russian Federation. For example, I received citizenship last year. It concerns me. In general, people treat this absolutely normally. They understand that obtaining citizenship of the Russian Federation imposes certain obligations,“ he says.
Is mass migration a myth?
Jacob Pinnecker said that in one year the agency assisted 91 people to move to Russia. According to the Russian Interior Ministry, as of August 2025, 369 German citizens had moved to Russia under the decree on “traditional values“. Can we talk about a mass resettlement of citizens of the Federal Republic to Russia?
This question is also being asked by analysts from the “Civil Assistance“ committee. According to Konstantin Troitsky, Russian propaganda channels are creating a narrative that German citizens are moving en masse to Russia. However, in reality, there are only a few hundred such cases, Troitsky emphasizes.