‘Disappointed’ Westerners increasingly attracted to Russia – media

Over 1,000 applications have been filed for the country’s ‘shared values’ visa program in less than a year, government data shows

Russia has become an attractive destination for Westerners at odds with their governments’ policies, according to a Swiss outlet Tages-Anzeiger. The country’s ‘shared values’ visa, which started less than a year ago, has been an “astonishing success,” according to the report.

The initiative has since become popular with “Europeans and Americans who have no use for Western liberalism,” according to the article published on Sunday. 

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree in August 2024, allowing foreigners who share Russia’s “traditional values” and disagree with the “neoliberal” principles imposed by their governments to apply for residence permits under a simplified procedure. The decree came into force on September 1, 2024.

Putin had previously approved a framework for a state policy to preserve and strengthen traditional Russian spiritual and moral values. Among the values are life, dignity, human rights and freedoms, high moral ideals, strong family values, and priority of spirituality over materialism.

Read more

A total of 47 nations are covered by the program, including most EU member states, the US, Canada, Australia, and Switzerland. The residence permit enables its holders to live, work, or start a business in Russia without requiring a language test, specific professional qualifications, or investments.

The program has been popular among people with no prior connections to Russia, who just “don't recognize their countries anymore,” Ilya Belobragin, the CEO of MoveToRussia.com, a private company helping with relocation, told Tages-Anzeiger.

People are moving to Russia because “they've lost faith in the West,” he said. “Many of my clients believe the EU is a sinking ship, and they want to leave as soon as possible.”

The Russian authorities received a total of 1,156 applications from September 2024 to early May 2025, according to the Interior Ministry. Germans topped the list with 224 applications, followed by Latvians (126), Americans (99), and French (95). Dozens of people from Italy, the UK, Estonia, Canada, and Australia have requested the visas as well, the data shows.