When one thinks of an online troll baiting critics and throwing red meat to supporters, Russian President Vladimir Putin most likely is not the first name that pops up. This is unfortunate, as when he chooses to do so, Putin can tweak noses and strike poses with the best of them. A case in point is this announcement, as dutifully printed on August 19, 2024, by the official Russian propaganda … er, news agency TASS.
Russia offers safe haven for people trying to escape Western liberal ideals
Under the document, such foreign nationals will have the right to apply for temporary residence in Russia “outside the quota approved by the Russian government and without providing documents confirming their knowledge of the Russian language, Russian history and basic laws”
MOSCOW, August 19. /TASS/. Moscow will provide assistance to any foreigners who want to escape the neoliberal ideals being put forward in their countries and move to Russia, where traditional values reign supreme, according to a decree signed by President Vladimir Putin.
Under the document, such foreign nationals will have the right to apply for temporary residence in Russia “outside the quota approved by the Russian government and without providing documents confirming their knowledge of the Russian language, Russian history and basic laws.”
Applications may be based on the rejection of their countries’ policies “aimed at imposing destructive neoliberal ideals on people, which run counter to traditional Russian spiritual and moral values.”
The values are listed in the foundations of Russia’s state policy in this field, while the Russian government is expected to compile a list of countries imposing unhealthy attitudes on their citizens. The Foreign Ministry has been instructed to start issuing three-month visas to such applicants as early as in September.
In February, Putin supported the idea of Italian student Irene Cecchini that Russia should ease entry rules for those who share traditional cultural and family values. The head of state agreed that each case requires an individual approach.
One can easily imagine a Russian version of the Statue of Liberty appearing overnight in Red Square, its base bearing an inscription urging visitation by the tired, the poor, and the huddled masses yearning to breathe free from the alphabet mafia and MSNBC.
Levity aside, while literally only God knows what is in Vladimir Putin’s heart, it is no secret he sees himself as a defender of traditional Western values, including Christianity. While his erstwhile compatriots, such as Stalin et al., actively suppressed religion, Putin has at least outwardly embraced the traditional Christian church. He has often spoken out against the modern liberal philosophies permeating Western society. As this 2019 report notes:
“[Liberals] cannot simply dictate anything to anyone just like they have been attempting to do over the recent decades,” he said.
Mr. Putin branded Chancellor Angela Merkel’s decision to admit more than 1m refugees to Germany, mainly from war-ravaged Syria, as a “cardinal mistake.” But he praised Donald Trump for trying to stop the flow of migrants and drugs from Mexico.
“This liberal idea presupposes that nothing needs to be done. That migrants can kill, plunder and rape with impunity because their rights as migrants have to be protected.”
He added: “Every crime must have its punishment. The liberal idea has become obsolete. It has come into conflict with the interests of the overwhelming majority of the population.”
In September 2022, Putin made it clear his views and official government policy were in lockstep.
“The battle for cultural supremacy is growing on the world stage,” according to the statement Putin signed Monday on Russia’s “humanitarian policy” abroad. “Centuries of history have given Russia a rich cultural heritage and spiritual potential that has put it in a unique position to successfully spread traditional Russian moral and religious values.”
The decree calls for the country’s foreign policy to counter what it terms a campaign to discredit Russia and its goals. It claims Russia is increasingly seen abroad as a guardian of traditional moral, social, and family values against what it describes as “the aggressive imposition of neoliberal views by a number of states.”
On August 6, 2024, Putin moved the initiative forward.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday called for the government to develop a program for overseas promotion of “traditional Russian spiritual and moral values,” a theme that the Kremlin has increasingly sounded in recent years.
In an order published on the Kremlin website, Putin instructed officials responsible for national projects to allot an unspecified amount of money for a program called “Russia in the World.”
The program would be aimed toward “developing international youth cooperation and promoting traditional Russian spiritual and moral values abroad,” the order said.
Putin is no fool. He sees the growing discontent swelling throughout social media against Western governments increasingly abandoning traditional values for whatever reason. He sees England actively prosecuting individuals who speak up against unfettered immigration with no onus placed on new arrivals to assimilate themselves into traditional Western societal norms. Putin is well aware of the Democrats turning ever farther to the left, openly despising the very people they seek to govern as they view the American taxpayer as nothing more than a funding source for social engineering. As Bonchie wrote here on August 20, 2024:
To Democrats, rural Americans are expendable. They don’t matter. They aren’t important. That’s what this latest faux outrage shows.
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Vladimir Putin knows how to play the long game. By setting up the mechanism of opening Russia to purveyors of traditional values, he has unlocked a door for those increasingly wearied by a government and its media machine, on both the fake news and entertainment fronts, making no bones about its open hostility toward them. The cries of the alarmists and conspiracy mongers are becoming increasingly more believable in the face of events such as the Democrats forcing Kamala Harris as their Presidential nominee on the nation despite her receiving not a single vote for the position. When you have Tucker Carlson talking about feeling significantly safer on the streets of Moscow than any major U.S. city, you have a situation ripe for harvest. Putin is actively planting an orchard for just such a scenario. This move by the Russian bear bears monitoring.
