A small but growing number of disenchanted Americans have expatriated to Russia in search of a more traditional society, often with Christian motivations, reports the Free Press (May 7). Peter Savodnik writes that these expats are at the “nexus of a growing movement of Americans chasing the American dream. In Russia.” The reasons given for this move often involve the view that Russia is becoming the next bastion of Christianity after the U.S. has moved in increasingly secular and liberal directions. In interviewing 20 of these American expats who have arrived in Russia in the past four years, Savodnik finds that they made the move “because they no longer believed the one person they once thought could save America—Donald Trump—could still save it. America, they felt, was beyond saving now.” One expat, a 49-year-old YouTuber from Florida, said he believed God had called him to Russia, adding that the country “feels like our positive vision of 1950s America.” Savodnik adds that the “Americans flocking to Russia told me they did so to save their children and their children’s children.” While not providing an estimate of the new expats, he writes that they have moved to Moscow and St. Petersburg, as well the “wild east”—Siberia. One retired computer engineer who lives in Yalta in the Crimea said he moved because “the U.S. is a political mess.” “Socially, things are a mess. Spiritually, things are a mess.” Few of the expats interviewed were bothered by the actions of Vladimir Putin or viewed him as a dictator. They were generally favorable about the Russian invasion of Ukraine, believing that the U.S. had a role in instigating the war.
Source: https://www.thefp.com/p/american-men-seeking-american-dream-in-russia
(Free Press, https://www.thefp.com/p/american-men-seeking-american-dream-in-russia?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email)
