To Russia with Love
Should you join the exodus to Russia?
I kid you not, dear reader, Americans and Canadians are moving to Russia. There are growing communities of English-speaking expats there, escaping from what they see as a high-tax war machine and a plummeting standard of living in their home countries. Apparently, Russia is welcoming them with open arms, even building a migrant village for those of a conservative political bent outside Moscow.
Hey, I bet you didn’t see this one coming!
And I bet you didn’t realize that Russia has modernized so much since the collapse of the Soviet Union that it looks like the metropolis above — which happens to be Moscow, the capital of Russia.
Should you also consider making a move to what was formerly referred to as the Evil Empire?
Maybe you’re still comfortable and embedded enough in your life in Silicon Valley, or Milwaukee, or New England, or Toronto, or wherever you happen to live, that moving is not in the immediate cards for you—unless, of course, things go to hell in a handbasket for some reason. And even then, I would wager that it would have to be a pretty hot hell to abandon your beloved homeland.
I know I’m in no hurry to move. I just moved from the UK to the US and it’s downright expensive and a pain in the arse to move. I can’t say I recommend it.
However, that’s not my decision to make for you folks. So below I review the pros and cons you might want to consider if this possibility intrigues you. I studied Russian in high school and got a college degree in it, and lived for half a year in a former Soviet republic after the collapse of the Soviet Union, so I have a bit of perspective to offer based on that first-hand knowledge and experience.
But first I’ll share someone else’s advice about whether you should move — or stay and continue to fight the good fight — or live the good life, depending on your perspective and circumstances.
America vs Russia, that is the question, da?
The following comes from yesterday’s substack post from Simplicius76. Be warned, he takes no prisoners in his assessment of the future of what the cognoscenti are calling the Great American Empire, or what our friend George W called ‘Murica.
What practical steps can dissident Americans take to free ourselves from the Global American Empire and to lay the groundwork for a sane society? I almost said “return to a sane society,” but I’m increasingly convinced that the American project was always doomed to failure.
Well, assuming you mean specifically in the ‘stay and fight’ mode, rather than fleeing to greener pastures. Obviously moving to somewhere like Russia is one of the better options, particularly with all the new initiatives on the Russian side to welcome such Westerners in exactly this purpose, and the flowering of new expat run communities made specifically for English-speaking expats, like those of Tim Kirby and several others.
But apart from that, if you mean strictly within America itself, I’m not sure how much can be done. There’s the standard adage about trying to take control of all the astro-turfed grassroots level institutions, precisely where Soros and co. have highjacked America the most; school community boards and such. But in reality, as long as the Western financial and central bank system is in place, I don’t think the country can ever be freed or truly saved. One of the reasons is that the endless money spigot gives the enemy infinite funding to do whatever it takes to control all politicians and thus all policy.
So barring escaping, there’s no easy answer. I do think there’s a lot of good momentum now toward some beneficial outcomes, which will depend a lot on what happens in the next election, but it will have to be a long term outlook. There’s no panacea or quick silver-bullet solution. I think the people just have to keep getting angrier, allowing the pot to boil over more and more, until something breaks. America has built up a big enough nest egg of luxury that collapse happens very slowly, as people don’t really feel the situation going ‘critical’ since they still have that silken padding of goodies and first world amenities.
The only thing I can say is that dissident Americans should continue unplugging from the system as much as possible. If the collapse to reality is going to take a long time, then don’t throw your life away waiting for it: move out of “progressive” cities, take care of yourself and your family, homeschool your kids and keep as much of the modern culture poison away from them as possible, and basically just focus on yourself and your life without letting ‘the struggle’ eat away or destroy you. The best one can do is raise a new generation of children that are not brainwashed and propagandized by the elites’ agenda and corporate programming. The more people that do that, the more of the future you steal away from these elites, their plans, and their own scions.
Of course, if you bury your head in the sand too much, you may one day wake up with the ‘problem’ at your door, with no more room to escape or run away to a new refuge. In that case, you may have no choice but to bail and move to a better country. Sometimes a ship is simply not worth saving or is impossible to save, if the rot is too far advanced.
I know, I know, he’s not terribly optimistic that the ills of America can be cured, but he does scope out what he sees as the best options if you decide to stay.
And some of the comments below the post are helpful, even if most are blokes arguing over stuff. On the specific subject of whether and where to move, three ‘Muricans are hunkering down in Montana, Idaho, and the Rockies, where they’re prepping for trouble and talking about homeschooling and gated communities.
Several other commenters recommend Serbia, Russia, and Spain as places to relocate, the last being where many Ukrainians have ended up in the wake of war. I’ve also seen people advocate for South American countries in other posts, with Uruguay (below) being a favorite. Also Chile, where there is reportedly a large Palestinian diaspora community. You can see a listing of recommended countries here.
To quote the Clash, should I stay or should I go?
Hey, there’s lots to think about here. You’ve got to weigh the pros and cons carefully. I’ve compiled a list of what those might be, but feel free to add your own perspicacious observations in the comments section below.
Here are the pros of staying in the US:
They drink a lot of vodka in Russia, I mean a lot, and the guys are expected to keep up. The problem with that being that Russians have built up a tolerance for the stuff but we westerners haven’t, meaning you find yourself comatose under the table or in the toilet throwing up while they could enter a weight-lifting competition and hold their own. This is a major drawback unless you can hide out in the expatriate community your entire time living there. I’m not kidding, bro.
You know the English language already, am I right? (At least sort of.) Whereas Russian ain’t going to be all that easy to learn, especially if you’re an old dog. I studied Russian for six years as a relative youngster with a more plastic brain, even going so far as to learn some Old Church Slavonic, and I quake at the idea of relearning it. For one thing, you have to learn the Cyrillic alphabet. For another, the nouns all have genders — masculine, feminine, and neuter — which don’t necessarily make sense to a western mind. And last but probably worst, there are six ‘cases’ that determine the endings of nouns and adjectives — nominative, genitive, dative, accusative, instrumental, and prepositional. That alone should strike fear in your heart.
In North America, people have that friendly customer service thing going on and smile all the time and ask “How are you?” and “How can I help you?” and all that jazz. Russians tend to be rather blunt and serious. True story: I stayed in a hotel where the lady assigned to ‘manage’ our floor played loud music all night. When I went out and nicely asked her to turn it down, in Russian no less, she responded “Please enjoy” and kept it blasting. I kid you not. The next day I had to switch rooms with a guy in my group who could sleep through anything. Of course you might not be staying in hotels, but you get my point. They might still have that Soviet ‘take or leave it’ mentality. At least in the hinterlands.
It’s also colder in Russia — most of it being at the same latitudes as Canada and Alaska. Great if you love winter sports, not so great if you don’t. (Unless you’re able to live someplace like subtropical Sochi on the Black Sea.)
You already know how to work the system and get people to do what you want where you live now (at least kind of). Having lived in the UK for many years, I never got savvy at getting English plumbers to fix anything. It was always “No, that can’t be fixed, you’ll just have to live with it.” Of course, my English friends had the same problems, and we all hired Polish plumbers. But then Brexit took all the Polish plumbers away and no one knew what to do. Just think if you have to figure out how to deal with tradespeople in a whole new country in a foreign language. The thought is horrifying.
Thanksgiving, Halloween, Superbowl Sunday — there’s nothing like an American holiday. And where else are you going to get finger-lickin’ good fried chicken, French fries, hamburgers with all the fixings, or whatever else you fancy. In Russia you’re going to get borscht (beet soup) and pirogi and blinis and stroganoff. Will you be able to get a delivery of pizza or Chinese at the drop of a hat? I don’t know. Better check it out, because we North Americans know how to party down, and that’s nothing to give up lightly.
Welcome, comrade
On the other hand, there are some obvious pros for moving to Russia:
Lots of folks think the US and Canada are on a steep and slippery slope to the likes of a tyrannical banana republic. Such folks are getting ready for either a civil war or the rapture and resurrection — or the second coming of Donald J. Trump. In the meantime, the guv’ment is developing robots and drones that can travel much faster than you can, can hone in on a target (like you) with hairtrigger accuracy, and can find living things (like you) that are trying to avoid detection using heat sensors. Maybe it’s better to take your chances with that soft-talking Mister Putin, aka Vova, who comes across as kind of a cuddly father figure, don’t you think? (Apparently he’s very popular with the Russians, contrary to American propaganda.)
Russia is part of BRICS, the union of countries that is going to take over the world. Forget the UN or the EU or NATO or WHO or any of those old-school, old-world, past-their-sell-by-date organizations. BRICS has Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, and other countries are rushing to join. The globe is shifting on its axis, dude. Get on board with the new popular kids or get left behind, is what many overseas expats are saying.
At the micro, what’s-in-it-for-me-personally level, consider the probability that if Russia is good enough for whistleblower Edward Snowden, who’s gotten married and had two kids there, it’s got to be an A-OK place for you to live as well. Of course, he was fleeing from criminal charges in the US for releasing classified documents, and he couldn’t leave because his US passport had been revoked, but since that time he’s been joined by lots of gringos who actually want to live there. Not to mention, as of 2020 you can have dual citizenship. No need to give up your US or Canadian citizenship. How can you go wrong?
Russia is the vodka and caviar capital of the world. And it’s got big oil reserves and a significantly lower cost of living. Hmmm.
Russia has a declining birthrate and needs more people. And it’s not under the sway of those depopulation maniacs in the World Economic Forum. So you’re less likely to find yourself ‘depopulated’ through a bioweapon or chemtrails — something clearly of concern to lots of North American folks. Maybe everyone should help the globalists by depopulating the west and populating Russia. Now there’s a win-win solution, da? (See, you’re already picking up some Russian. You’re halfway there!)
Perhaps most exciting, there are loads of cool places within and surrounding Russia to visit. Inside Russia, besides the two main cities of Moscow and St Petersburg (aka the Venice of the North), you can travel across the Golden Ring, visit the Ural Mountains or the northern steppes, cross the country on the Trans-Siberian Railway, visit Lake Baikal (below), and so much more. (The country is almost twice as large as the US. Look at a map. It’s huge.) Around it you’ve got all of Europe at your feet to the west, Asia and the Middle East below, and Africa only a hop, skip, and jump away. Alaska is only 55 miles from Russia in the east — spitting distance. You’ve always wanted to visit Alaska, am I right?
Eeny, meeny, miny, moe
North America vs Russia — not as easy a decision as you thought. There are pros to staying in the USA or Canada, and there are pros to pulling up stakes and moving to the biggest country on the planet.
I know. Decisions, decisions. I hope I’ve helped a wee bit.
If you move, let me know. For sure I’ll come visit, help you feel ‘to home’ in your new place. Cook you some burgers and fries. Visit the palace and the Hermitage Museum with you.
In the meantime, “За здоровье!” (“Cheers!” or “To your health!”)
Hey, are you looking for a cool and easy-to-order holiday gift?
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Yes. We went to Samarkand while we were there in early 2002 on a tourist bus sponsored by the Army MWR. I still have lots of pictures.
With my former career in the military, the DOD would have kittens if I thought about relocating there. Not that I am anything like Edward Snowden, but I know things the Russians would like to take a look at. Interesting idea about North Americans looking for a better place. They are leaving their respective countries in dribbles and small droves these days but most seem to be heading for western Europe, the Caribbean or Mexico, rather than Russia.