The figures have been lauded on Russian TV and by politicians alike as proof that those in the West are rejecting its “liberal agenda”.
“In the West, it seemed like they were just waiting for Putin’s document to appear… Tired of the liberal agenda – that’s how everyone who contacted the Russian diplomatic mission explained their decision,” reported Tsargrad TV, which has links to the Kremlin.
Irina Volk, a major-general from Russia’s Interior Ministry, said such moves have occurred after “the abolition of traditional moral and family values in American society, as well as the low level of education.”
‘I want to thank President Putin’
The move, which is not limited to the UK, comes after Russia allowed a family of Americans to move to Russia. Leo Lionel and Chantel Felice moved to Russia from the US with their children, aged 16, 14, and 11.
“Personally, I want to thank your President Putin for allowing Russia to become a good place for families in this world climate,” Mr Lionel said. We intend to use this opportunity to benefit our family. I feel like I’ve been put in an arch of safety. And it’s very important, thank you so much.”
Meanwhile, Arend Feinstra left his home in Ontario, Canada, to move to Russia with his wife and eight children. “We didn’t feel safe with our children there and for the future,” he explained.
“There’s a lot of left-wing ideology, LGBTQ, trans, just a lot of things that we don’t agree with they teach there now. We wanted to get away from that for our children. But also, for economic reasons, the farming has better opportunities. We felt that Russia was best.”
Foreign fighters
There are also fears Putin could use the extended immigration scheme as an avenue to recruit foreigners to fight in its invasion of Ukraine.
Russia would certainly have “no qualms” about letting any of these emigrants join the army to fight against Ukraine, according to Mark Galeotti, executive director at Mayak Intelligence and an East European studies professor at UCL. “It would be a great PR advantage,” he told The Telegraph.
But for Mr Galeotti, Putin’s move is much more about spreading propaganda across Russia in order to make Russians think they have never had it so good.