Canadian farmer Arend Feenstra, who moved to Russia through a streamlined immigration program for citizens of “unfriendly” countries who share “traditional values,” has complained that he cannot get a permanent residence permit. The news outlet Nizhny Novgorod Onlain drew attention to his YouTube video.
Feenstra received a three-year temporary residence permit in Russia’s Nizhny Novgorod region in early 2025. He then brought his wife and eight children to Russia and began farming.
But Feenstra has now learned that to replace his temporary residence permit with a permanent one, he must sign a contract with Russia’s Defense Ministry.
I’ve said this before about this guy and his wife, bring the kids home. But the parents? Fuck those traitors. They shat their bed. Let them lie in it.
They have traditional values in Russia. It’s just that they are Stalin’s traditional values.
If you don’t get sent to the front lines or the gulag, you get to drink yourself to death. As is tradition.
… and then things got worse
It’s so funny that some people think Russia has traditional values. It was an atheist country up until 30 years ago, and today when people say they’re religious, what they mean is they go to church a couple of times a year at most. Not to mention, today they have a very high divorce rate/many single mother households. How are these traditional values?
When people say they want traditional values, they mean racism, gay-bashing and misogyny. Russia has those. This loser is mostly upset because they want him to fight in ukraine in exchange for permanent residency.
Yeah “traditional values” = “I get to hit the people who are forced into dependency on me”
My father is a traditional values type and I remember him complaining to me when I was like ten that “spousal rape” was a thing.
He also hit us.
I’d argue that Russia has less misogyny. Women for example have always been in the workforce, and having a woman run a large department or be in charge of men is considered normal. It always has been.
In terms of gay bashing, Russians are private people and they don’t care what you do in private. But this is true for all matters, not just being gay.
I do agree about racism.
Even assuming that’s an accurate picture, “I don’t care what you do as long as I don’t have to acknowledge you exist” is still homophobia.
It’s in regards to all matters, not just being gay.
The statute amended the Russian law On Protecting Children from Information Harmful to Their Health and Development and the Code of the Russian Federation on Administrative Offenses, to prohibit the distribution of “propaganda of non-traditional sexual relationships” among minors. This definition includes materials that “raise interest in” such relationships, cause minors to “form non-traditional sexual predispositions”, or “[present] distorted ideas about the equal social value of traditional and non-traditional sexual relationships.”
That sounds pretty specifically about criminalizing homosexuality.
America and Europe don’t seem to mind so much, as long as you give them all your natural resources you can persecute whomever you want.
You’re just pinkwashing imperialism.
That’s an interesting point about the misogyny. The Soviet Union was relatively egalitarian between men and women, i suppose. i think the first female astronaut was soviet.
Russian media is whatgave me the impression that russia was misogynistic, but i have no firsthand experience.
In January 2017, Russian lawmakers voted, 380–3, to decriminalize certain forms of domestic violence. Under the new law, first-time offenses that do not result in “serious bodily harm” carry a maximum fine of 30,000 rubles, up to 15 days’ administrative arrest, or up to 120 hours of community service.
I think maybe you are confusing an idealized version of the USSR with modern day Putin’s Russia.
The “traditional values” of heavy drinking and autocracy?
But they have shopping carts that can go up escalators.
And bread!
Thoughts as I was reading this:
He then brought his wife and eight children…
This is not someone who should be taken seriously. Not normal.
He also said his family no longer recommends that other foreigners move to Russia because the authorities keep changing the rules and “there’s no way forward.”
Haha, loser. Imagine finding out in 2026 that the Russian state is corrupt.
Since November 2025, foreign men ages 18 to 65 who are deemed fit for military service have been required to sign a contract with the Defense Ministry to obtain a permanent residence permit in Russia. People who moved to Russia through the “traditional values” program are not exempt from this requirement.
Go get killed for the state, moron. Why do you think they let you in? Because they’re nice and friendly? They need cannon fodder, you dolt.
I thought one of the “traditional values” these guys love is men being protectors? So he should be thrilled to serve in the military to “defend” his family and the “traditional values” he loves so much
Canadian farmer with the dutchest name there is
Yeah highly likely his Dutch grandpa moved to Canada after WW2 to find a better life. Then he threw everything his grandfather and father build away for Russia. Bet he sold the farm he inherited from his dad and opa
Grandpa like “je deed wat?”
I wouldn’t trust the Russian government to watch my dog.
If you think the USA, Russia, or UK would keep any agreement, treaty, or deal in the year of Our Lord 2026, I don’t know what to tell you. Yeah, no shit.
(not sure about Canada, but I doubt it)
Surely getting over the fact that other people don’t necessarily want to live your religious lifestyle would have been easier and safer
the idiot also likely doesnt want to learn Russian, which is required if you want to surive in russia.
Fucking hell, getting some language skills would be the sole upside of this entire idiotic affair.
Russian is a legit language of world literature, which would be useful since his life will probably contain suffering comparable to Dostoyevsky’s characters.
Oh yeah. Been following this guy for the schadenfreude for awhile. When he first moved there he was surprised that workers at the random Russian bank he went to didn’t speak English. Dude is so fucking stupid
Russia that is known for systematic erasure of culture through resettlement and enforcement of their langauge, has very little people speaking English? You serious?!
Yeah, but do you not understand how bad Canada is? I had to pay taxes last year! If I didn’t pay them they’d come to my house and… Sorry what? Just deliver a letter that says I owe taxes? Not armed police?
Fuck that! Anyway, they’ll send you threatening letters that demand you owe them money! And after I refuse that they’ll send the cops and… Oh, they’ll just charge interest to what you owe? And if you still don’t pay it immediately they don’t really care? Um…
Yeah! So that’s why I moved my family of 10 to Russia, so we didn’t have to deal with the fascistic theft of money like Canada!
I feel bad for his kids.
What’s more traditional values than dying for your liegelord in an offensive war that doesn’t benefit you even if won though?
Beating your wife before you leave.
How long until we hear that the guy decided to sign the contract anyway and has been shipped off to fight in Ukraine? Of course, he’ll be fighting one handed for a while because several of the fingers of his other hand we’re mysteriously broken and/or had the fingernails torn off shortly before he signed.
TIL the leopards in Russia are critically endangered. Hopefully eating faces can help their numbers rebound.
The only way to guarantee citizenship is to enlist? Sounds familiar…
Is sadly better in that respect than the US, where we require complicated paperwork to gain citizenship through military service, and deport those veterans who make errors or miss paperwork deadlines.
Thinking that Russia, a country with the highest rate of HIV, abortion, CSAM, child prostitution, and drug use has traditional values is proof that online propaganda works.
Traditional conservative values.
Yeah, but they mentioned aborti…
Wait, their abortion is the only moral abortion. Nevermind.
CSAM, child prostitution
Glances at news
My guy I think those ARE the traditional values they want.
The fact the media calls children who are raped “Boys” and “Young women” is all you need to know. It’s never “little girls” who are assaulted, it’s “young women”
They sure ain’t listening to Russian hardbass, lol
Yeah but they don’t like “the gays” so it evens out I guess.
