Over 1,100 foreigners granted ‘anti-woke’ Russian visas last year

Over 1,100 foreign citizens received Russian visas last year for their declared commitment to “traditional values”, state media reported on Wednesday, a track opened as Moscow hardens its anti-liberal narrative amid the war in Ukraine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has for years denounced anything that goes against what he calls “traditional family values” as unRussian – including everything from LGBTQ rights to mixed-gender bathrooms – portraying them as a sign of the moral decadence of the West.

In 2024, he signed a decree offering “humanitarian support” and visas to foreigners from a list of countries that “impose destructive neoliberal ideological policies contrary to traditional Russian spiritual and moral values”.

Citizens from those countries – mainly from Europe, but also the United States, Japan, South Korea or New Zealand – are eligible to apply for residency in Russia under the scheme.

Last year, 1,112 people were granted entry visas through the initiative, Alexey Klimov, director of the Consular Department of the Russian Foreign Ministry, told state agency RIA Novosti.

German and French nationals topped the list of recipients with 168 and 140, respectively. US citizens ranked third, according to Klimov, with 105 visas received.