The Russian dream
Why are Westerners moving to Putin’s Russia on the Shared Values visa, and does life there live up to their expectations?
It is an unlikely migration trend - Westerners swapping life in Texas or London for Moscow or Nizhny Novgorod. In 2024, President Vladimir Putin introduced the Russian Shared Values visa, sometimes called the “anti-woke” visa, offering up to three years of residency to citizens of 47 so-called “unfriendly” countries who say they align with Russia’s traditional spiritual and moral values.
Applicants do not need to speak Russian or pass a history test to qualify. Instead, they must reject the social and cultural direction of their home country. We hear the stories of people making this move. What motivates them and how do their expectations compare with the reality of life in Russia?
Presenter/producer: Dan Hardoon
Editor: Mike Wendling
Sound engineer: Richard Courtice
A Story² production for BBC World Service
On radio
Broadcasts
- Thu 18 Jun 202601:32GMTBBC World Service
- Thu 18 Jun 202608:32GMTBBC World Service
- Thu 18 Jun 202619:06GMTBBC World Service except East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa
- Sat 20 Jun 202623:32GMTBBC World Service except Americas and the Caribbean, East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa
- Sun 21 Jun 202604:32GMTBBC World Service except Australasia & East and Southern Africa
- Sun 21 Jun 202613:06GMTBBC World Service News Internet
- Sun 21 Jun 202622:32GMTBBC World Service East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa only
