Putin & Russia Escalate on the Values Front

Ukaz #702

Back at the ASI Forum "Strong ideas for the New Time" held on 22 February 2024 that I reported on here, the first strong idea was proposed by Irena Cecchini, an Italian citizen and fourth-year student of the MGIMO Faculty of International Relations, which was to loosen the immigration requirements for those who share Russia’s values. A notion Putin strongly agreed with at the time, with their whole discussion available to read at the above link. With what transpired at what was called the Olympics in Paris recently, a much larger portion of the world was exposed to what the Neoliberal West is calling its values. Many Russians along with Putin for well over the past decade have leveled very serious accusations targeting the immorality within these so-called values as they’ve continued to be expanded and more depraved, particularly regarding the manipulation of children in what many would deem felony child abuse. Over my many years of following Putin, I’ve heard him remark about the sanctity and moral importance of children and family for all Russians, so I was rather certain Ms. Cecchini’s idea would be adopted in some form. Her idea as modified by Russia’s government is the seed within Ukaz #702 that allows for much easier terms for migration to Russia with the end goal of those migrants to become Russian citizens. The link is to the formal pdf document in Russian. Fortunately, I was able to find in in html format and able to translate it:

EDICT

OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION

On providing humanitarian support to persons who share traditional Russian spiritual and moral values

In order to protect fundamental human rights and freedoms, to support persons who have made a free choice in favor of spiritual, cultural and legal ties with the Russian Federation, and in accordance with Part 1 of Article 24 of Federal Law No. 114-FZ of August 15, 1996 "On the Procedure for Exit from the Russian Federation and Entry into the Russian Federation", Paragraph 2 of Article 3 of Federal Law No. 115-FZ of July 25, 2002 "On the Legal Status of Foreign Citizens in the Russian Federation" I resolve:

1. To grant the right to apply for a temporary residence permit without taking into account the quota approved by the Government of the Russian Federation and without submitting a document confirming knowledge of the Russian language, knowledge of the history of Russia and the basics of the legislation of the Russian Federation, to foreign citizens and stateless persons who have expressed a desire to move to the Russian Federation to live from foreign states of their citizenship or permanent residence for reasons non-acceptance of the policy implemented by these states, which imposes destructive neoliberal ideological attitudes that contradict the traditional Russian spiritual and moral values provided for by the Fundamentals of State Policy for the Preservation and Strengthening of Traditional Russian Spiritual and Moral Values, approved by the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of November 9, 2022 No 809 "On Approval of the Fundamentals of State Policy for the Preservation and Strengthening of Traditional Russian Spiritual and Moral Values".

2. To establish that:

a) the list of foreign states implementing a policy that imposes destructive neoliberal ideological attitudes that contradict traditional Russian spiritual and moral values is approved by the Government of the Russian Federation on the proposal of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation;

b) an application for a temporary residence permit indicating the reasons provided for in Item 1 of this Decree shall be submitted in accordance with the procedure established by Articles 6 and 61 of Federal Law No. 115-FZ of July 25, 2002 "On the Legal Status of Foreign Citizens in the Russian Federation";

c) the decision to issue a temporary residence permit in accordance with this Decree shall be made in accordance with the established procedure, provided that there are no grounds for refusal to issue a temporary residence permit provided for in Article 7 of Federal Law No. 115-FZ of July 25, 2002 "On the Legal Status of Foreign Citizens in the Russian Federation".

3. Within a month, the Government of the Russian Federation shall:

a) ensure the implementation of measures aimed at the implementation of this Decree;

b) bring its acts in line with this Decree.

4. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation shall ensure the issuance of single-entry ordinary private visas for a period of three months on the basis of a decision of the head of a diplomatic mission or consular office of the Russian Federation to issue a visa to a foreign citizen or stateless person, adopted in exceptional cases upon their written application, which indicates the reasons provided for in paragraph 1 of this Decree.

5. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation shall take measures aimed at implementing this Decree.

6. This Decree shall enter into force on the date of its signing, with the exception of paragraphs 1, 2, 4 and 5, which shall enter into force on September 1, 2024.

President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin

The Kremlin, Moscow

August 19, 2024

№ 702

[My Emphasis]

The 2022 law is extremely important when determining what are Russian values. Here’s a partial listing but the entire document includes more extensive information:

3. Traditional values are moral guidelines shaping the worldview of Russian citizens which are handed down from generation to generation, ensure civic unity, underlie the Russian civilizational identity and the unified cultural space of the country and have found their unique original manifestation in the spiritual, historical and cultural development of the multinational people of Russia.

Traditional values include life, dignity, human rights and freedoms, patriotism, citizenship, service to the Fatherland and responsibility for its fate, high moral ideals, strong family, creative work, the priority of the spiritual over the material, humanism, mercy, justice, collectivism, mutual assistance and mutual respect, historical memory and continuity of generations, the unity of the peoples of Russia.

4. The Russian Federation regards traditional values as the foundation of the Russian society which helps preserve and strengthen Russia's sovereignty and ensure the unity of the Russian Federation as a multi-ethnic and multi-confessional country.

5. The understanding of social, cultural, technological processes and phenomena based on traditional values allows us to respond to new challenges, preserve the civilizational identity of Russia and take into account the accumulated cultural and historical experience.

6. The public policy of the Russian Federation aimed at preserving and strengthening the traditional values is implemented in the areas of culture, education and child development, youth work, science, inter-ethnic and inter-confessional relations, information space, international cooperation, within the competence of relevant departments which ensure national defense, state and public safety. [My Emphasis]

This short report summarizes much:

According to the document signed by Putin, foreign citizens who share the values ​​​​accepted in Russia now have the right to apply for a temporary residence permit without taking into account the quota approved by the government of the Russian Federation. At the same time, it is no longer mandatory for foreign citizens and stateless persons who have expressed a desire to move from other countries to live in Russia to submit a document confirming their knowledge of the Russian language, knowledge of the history of Russia and the fundamentals of the legislation of the Russian Federation. At the same time, the motives for moving to Russia, according to the decree, should be determined by the rejection of the policies implemented by these states, which impose destructive neoliberal ideological guidelines that contradict traditional Russian spiritual and moral values.

Thus, the process of moving to Russia for permanent residence has been facilitated, first of all, for citizens of Western countries who do not accept the imposition of their agenda by the neoliberal-oriented political forces that have come to power in these countries, which involves the abandonment of traditional family and Christian values ​​in favor of minorities, actually imposing their very dubious “values” on all other categories of the population, often expressed in the propaganda of deviations of various kinds. In particular, the recent opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Paris became clear evidence of Western support for destructive “values.”

What’s missing is a definitive listing of those anti-values, or “destructive neoliberal ideals”; and I’d also like to see a better term used than the blanket “minorities” when the vast majority of minorities are also against the Neoliberal Totalitarian imposition that’s occurring. My search for info related to “destructive neoliberal ideals” brought forth an article by the arch-conservative Justice Report that stated in-part:

Why it matters: The move signals Russia’s increasing efforts to position itself as a global defender of what it believes to be “traditional values” in opposition to increasingly decadent Western liberal norms.

• The Russian Foreign Ministry will begin issuing three-month visas to eligible applicants as early as September.

• This policy aligns with Putin’s broader strategy of presenting Russia as a counterweight to Western cultural influence. In February, Putin expressed support for easing entry rules for those who share Russia’s views on traditional cultural and family values.

The bottom line: While framed as a humanitarian gesture, this policy likely ensures Russia’s ideological positioning on the global stage and comes amid a series of victories in its ongoing special military operation in Ukraine. [My Emphasis]

Do note how the report contradicts itself as emphasized above. My search revealed a great mass of reports. This one from Modernity cited one of the Establishment rags responses within its own revue:

The program was created as a result of Italian student Irene Cecchini’s plea to Putin that Russia offer a safe haven for “those who share traditional cultural and family values,” and was signed into by Putin law via a decree on Monday.

Western media outlets like Business Insider responded by asserting that Russia is an “authoritarian state” and that the program is designed to appeal to “far-right figures and conspiracy theorists.”

Or alternatively, it could appeal to people living in countries like the UK who are being imprisoned for social media posts.

Despite being “authoritarian,” Russia sends far fewer people to prison for mean tweets than the UK does.

In 2021, Putin blasted the west as “completely insane” for allowing children to be taught there is no biological sex.

During a speech at the Valdai Discussion Club in Sochi, Putin said the woke crusade against traditional gender roles was “subverting human nature.”

A link to the video of Putin at Valdai is provided.

Here’s the official English language transcript to that speech and the pertinent excerpts:

Third. The importance of a solid support in the sphere of morals, ethics and values is increasing dramatically in the modern fragile world. In point of fact, values are a product, a unique product of cultural and historical development of any nation. The mutual interlacing of nations definitely enriches them, openness expands their horizons and allows them to take a fresh look at their own traditions. But the process must be organic, and it can never be rapid. Any alien elements will be rejected anyway, possibly bluntly. Any attempts to force one’s values on others with an uncertain and unpredictable outcome can only further complicate a dramatic situation and usually produce the opposite reaction and an opposite from the intended result.

We look in amazement at the processes underway in the countries which have been traditionally looked at as the standard-bearers of progress. Of course, the social and cultural shocks that are taking place in the United States and Western Europe are none of our business; we are keeping out of this. Some people in the West believe that an aggressive elimination of entire pages from their own history, “reverse discrimination” against the majority in the interests of a minority, and the demand to give up the traditional notions of mother, father, family and even gender; they believe that all of these are the mileposts on the path towards social renewal.

Listen, I would like to point out once again that they have a right to do this, we are keeping out of this. But we would like to ask them to keep out of our business as well. We have a different viewpoint, at least the overwhelming majority of Russian society – it would be more correct to put it this way – has a different opinion on this matter. We believe that we must rely on our own spiritual values, our historical tradition and the culture of our multiethnic nation.

The advocates of so-called ‘social progress’ believe they are introducing humanity to some kind of a new and better consciousness. Godspeed, hoist the flags as we say, go right ahead. The only thing that I want to say now is that their prescriptions are not new at all. It may come as a surprise to some people, but Russia has been there already. After the 1917 revolution, the Bolsheviks, relying on the dogmas of Marx and Engels, also said that they would change existing ways and customs and not just political and economic ones, but the very notion of human morality and the foundations of a healthy society. The destruction of age-old values, religion and relations between people, up to and including the total rejection of family (we had that, too), encouragement to inform on loved ones – all this was proclaimed progress and, by the way, was widely supported around the world back then and was quite fashionable, same as today. By the way, the Bolsheviks were absolutely intolerant of opinions other than theirs.

This, I believe, should call to mind some of what we are witnessing now. Looking at what is happening in a number of Western countries, we are amazed to see the domestic practices, which we, fortunately, have left, I hope, in the distant past. The fight for equality and against discrimination has turned into aggressive dogmatism bordering on absurdity, when the works of the great authors of the past – such as Shakespeare – are no longer taught at schools or universities, because their ideas are believed to be backward. The classics are declared backward and ignorant of the importance of gender or race. In Hollywood memos are distributed about proper storytelling and how many characters of what colour or gender should be in a movie. This is even worse than the agitprop department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.

Countering acts of racism is a necessary and noble cause, but the new ‘cancel culture’ has turned it into ‘reverse discrimination’ that is, reverse racism. The obsessive emphasis on race is further dividing people, when the real fighters for civil rights dreamed precisely about erasing differences and refusing to divide people by skin colour. I specifically asked my colleagues to find the following quote from Martin Luther King: “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the colour of their skin but by their character.” This is the true value. However, things are turning out differently there. By the way, the absolute majority of Russian people do not think that the colour of a person's skin or their gender is an important matter. Each of us is a human being. This is what matters.

In a number of Western countries, the debate over men’s and women’s rights has turned into a perfect phantasmagoria. Look, beware of going where the Bolsheviks once planned to go – not only communalising chickens, but also communalising women. One more step and you will be there.

Zealots of these new approaches even go so far as to want to abolish these concepts altogether. Anyone who dares mention that men and women actually exist, which is a biological fact, risk being ostracised. “Parent number one” and “parent number two,” “'birthing parent” instead of “mother,” and “human milk” replacing “breastmilk” because it might upset the people who are unsure about their own gender. I repeat, this is nothing new; in the 1920s, the so-called Soviet Kulturtraegers also invented some newspeak believing they were creating a new consciousness and changing values that way. And, as I have already said, they made such a mess it still makes one shudder at times.

Not to mention some truly monstrous things when children are taught from an early age that a boy can easily become a girl and vice versa. That is, the teachers actually impose on them a choice we all supposedly have. They do so while shutting the parents out of the process and forcing the child to make decisions that can upend their entire life. They do not even bother to consult with child psychologists – is a child at this age even capable of making a decision of this kind? Calling a spade a spade, this verges on a crime against humanity, and it is being done in the name and under the banner of progress.

Well, if someone likes this, let them do it. I have already mentioned that, in shaping our approaches, we will be guided by a healthy conservatism. That was a few years ago, when passions on the international arena were not yet running as high as they are now, although, of course, we can say that clouds were gathering even then. Now, when the world is going through a structural disruption, the importance of reasonable conservatism as the foundation for a political course has skyrocketed – precisely because of the multiplying risks and dangers, and the fragility of the reality around us.

This conservative approach is not about an ignorant traditionalism, a fear of change or a restraining game, much less about withdrawing into our own shell. It is primarily about reliance on a time-tested tradition, the preservation and growth of the population, a realistic assessment of oneself and others, a precise alignment of priorities, a correlation of necessity and possibility, a prudent formulation of goals, and a fundamental rejection of extremism as a method. And frankly, in the impending period of global reconstruction, which may take quite long, with its final design being uncertain, moderate conservatism is the most reasonable line of conduct, as far as I see it. It will inevitably change at some point, but so far, do no harm – the guiding principle in medicine – seems to be the most rational one. Noli nocere [don’t hurt], as they say.

Again, for us in Russia, these are not some speculative postulates, but lessons from our difficult and sometimes tragic history. The cost of ill-conceived social experiments is sometimes beyond estimation. Such actions can destroy not only the material, but also the spiritual foundations of human existence, leaving behind moral wreckage where nothing can be built to replace it for a long time. [My Emphasis]

Well before 2022, Putin’s views on Liberalism were already being modified to the point where he declared it a concept that has “simply outlived its usefulness completely” in his 2019 interview with the Financial Times. Here’s the excerpt:

What is happening in the West? Why did the "Trump phenomenon", as you mentioned, happen in the United States? What is happening in European countries as well? Separation of the leading elites from the people. This is a very obvious thing – the gap between the interests of the elites and the interests of the vast majority of the population.

Of course, we should always think about this. And one of our tasks here in Russia is to never forget what the meaning of the functioning and existence of any government is – to create a stable, normal, safe and predictable life for people, only with a forecast for improvement.

Then there is the modern so-called liberal idea, which, in my opinion, has simply outlived its usefulness completely. On some of its elements, our Western partners have admitted that some of its elements are simply unrealistic: multiculturalism there and so on. That's when the problem with migration started, many people admitted that yes, unfortunately, this is not working, and we should remember the interests of the indigenous population. Although it is clear, you need to think about those people who found themselves in a difficult situation, in a difficult life situation due to various political reasons in their home country. Great, but what about the interests of our own population, when we are no longer talking about two, three, ten people, but thousands, hundreds of thousands of people who arrive in Western Europe?

And then there’re the words Putin spoke yesterday to the mothers of children killed by terrorists at Beslan 20 years ago:

Our people sometimes say, you know, the following words: "You don't wish it on your enemy." But our enemy is different, he is not like us, although they seem to have a head and hands. We are well. We know that from abroad they tried not only to justify this terrible crime, but they also provided terrorists with all kinds of assistance: moral, political, informational, financial, and military.

When I am talking about the moral side, then these people, of course, do not have any—neither morality nor ethics—and we are observing this now, I think, in real current life, from the outside, we see what they themselves are doing there. But in fact, there is no morality or ethics for these people. There are only them Interests. We seem to have known about this for decades and centuries, but it is impossible to get used to it. [My Emphasis]

It’s been a long process of learning the exact nature of the enemy, which is the Neoliberal West led by creatures known as Neocons, which in reality have zero connections to genuine Conservatism. And it must be stated that Russia isn’t perfect as some still retain what was once called Great Russian Chauvinism, a type of exceptionalism akin to White Supremacy. And as I’ve documented here at the Gym, Russia certainly needs all the immigrants it can attract who genuinely want to become Russianized and join Russia’s citizenry. The opportunities are almost endless. There’re numerous videos circulating on YouTube and elsewhere made by new arrivals as they travel across Russia getting to know their new environment, its people, their language, and customs. For those who are now inspired to take make a big change in their lives, you’ll eventually need to learn Russian language and history. The best one volume study is Vernadsky’s “A History of Russia” that brings you to the mid-1960s. Finding unbiased, objective histories of contemporary Russia are hard to find, and I can’t currently provide a recommendation. Russia’s producing a new series of history texts for use when school restarts on September first which are said to be the best produced over the last 30 years, which of course are in Russian. I found Russian an easy language to learn as I already knew Spanish with which there’re some similarities, and when you’re immersed in the culture you learn very rapidly.

When I read that strong idea, I knew Russia’s policy was going to change, and so it has. It will be interesting to see how this plays-out over the rest of the year. Will EU/NATO nations prevent their citizens from moving, thus violating their human rights? Informal sources say the numbers wanting to emigrate are in the low millions; are they really that many? Will BigLie Media try to push back and accidentally inform people of Russia’s policy change? And I hope the header photo didn’t shock too many, but those products are a reality.

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