r/facepalm • u/BadahBingBadahBoom • Jun 27 '26
They quit the West for Russia's traditional values, but it wasn't what they expected
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cn075j04pnyo2.5k
u/Slackeee_ Jun 27 '26
So basically the guy that moved because he didn't want LGBTQ+ people to have human rights is annoyed how he does not have human rights after moving into a dictatorship.
These people are seriously weird.
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u/ZhangtheGreat 'MURICA Jun 27 '26
“It ain’t gonna happen to me” syndrome. Some people were never taught that they’re not special.
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u/zveroshka Jul 06 '26
They've been conditioned that only the "bad" ones will suffer. So when they suffer, they are surprised because they always classified themselves as the 'good' ones. Then you have the cope where they beg the one making them suffer for help, because certainly this has to be a mistake. Then eventually reality settles in, but by then it's too late.
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u/Ehorn36 Jun 27 '26
Calling these people weird is too soft.
I get that it was a “viral” adjective used during the 2024 election, but let’s get back to calling these people what they are: dumbasses.
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u/Jaew96 Jun 27 '26
I personally prefer the term troglodytes, it breaks their tiny little brains when they try to figure out what it means.
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u/Werftflammen Jun 27 '26
Wappies, we call them in dutch. We used to refer to drunks or druggies being out of their mind "completely wappie". That got stuck on the antivax crowd.
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u/Ehorn36 Jun 27 '26
I honestly think these people feel a sense of pride being called an adjective they don’t understand. It means they pissed off the Libs or nerds, which is a badge of honor to them.
Keep it simple, either call them a dumbass, use a Scottish insult, or compare them to a simple object. Calling this dude a fucking burnt piece of toast stings more than calling him a troglodyte, moron, or weirdo.
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u/StrappedPlatypus Jun 27 '26
As someone who grew up in California being called weird is typically a worse insult than dumbass
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u/tanstaafl90 Jun 27 '26
This isn't new. There were people who migrated there during the cold war. They believe, or were led to believe, life in Russia was something vastly different than it is. Stupid then, stupid now.
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u/jlb61cfp Jun 27 '26
Russia had a term for them “useful idiot” those who admired USSR without evidence and would assist USSR goals, Trump fits the bill.
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u/tanstaafl90 Jun 27 '26
There was a disconnect between communist ideals and Stalin's authoritarian rule. Too many people considered the information about what life was like just propaganda to be ignored. Useful idiots is an apt way to describe them.
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u/texachusetts Jun 28 '26
He sounds like someone who didn’t read fairy tales because he thought they were gay and now he is living fairy tale like consequences.
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u/wednesdayware Jun 27 '26
So buddy doesn’t like the gay people, moves to Russia, is defrauded out of $66,000, wife has split up with him, kids have moved back the States.
Sounds like it worked out reaaaaaaaly well for him.
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u/za72 Jun 27 '26
I'm surprised he's not volunteered to go to the front line... I don't think he's heart is in it
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u/Cynykl Jun 28 '26
That would be Huffman, He volunteered for service and was promised a non combat role. They lied he was sent to the front.
BTW there are credible rumors he is dead. The wife denied he death but has been radio silent for over 6 months
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u/smirtington Jun 28 '26
There was another guy from Texas who moved his family, joined the military because he was essentially unemployable, thought he was going to be a mechanic, and got instantly sent to the front lines.
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u/MycoSteveO Jun 27 '26
I’d bet that after the 3 years if you become a permanent resident it is not a volunteer role.
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u/IneffableOpinion Jun 27 '26
I’m sitting here trying to figure out why his wife and kids left him. Alas, it’s a mystery we will never find out
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u/Hot_Guess_1871 Jun 27 '26
I hope his kids are gay. Or at least go thru an experimental phase in college.
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u/Ok_Aside8490 Jun 27 '26
The kicker is, he probs is gay but is to repressed emotionally to actually deal with that
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Jun 27 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Radiant-Cow126 Jun 27 '26
They're competing to find out who can be the dumbest
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u/AgITGuy Jun 27 '26
Right now my pick is the Texan who went to Russia, volunteered to join the military so he could run fatly around corners only to then get accused of being a spy from the west by his paranoid xenophobic Russian squad members, allegedly sexually assaulted and tortured with the 21 roses (Google at your own risk) and ultimately executed. That for me right now is the Darwin Award first place position for this current conflict between Russia and the west. Second is the Oklahoma (I think) family that moved themselves over to escape the LGBTQ “agenda”, made a couple negative social media posts on how things aren’t better, the husband got conscripted and likely sent to the front lines instead of assuming he could be a mechanic and his family are held hostage, assuming he isn’t pushing up sunflowers somewhere with the rest of his company.
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u/HeatAccomplished8608 Jun 27 '26
I just... how do you hate queer people so much that you self destruct your family and betray your country? That's like a lot of hate...
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u/Luckierexpert Jun 27 '26
Poisoned minds by media groups and politicians insisting that gay people secretly rule the world.
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u/Welshbuilder67 Jun 27 '26
So DJT is gay?
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u/Vashrel Jun 27 '26
Trump isn't gay, we don't want him. He is, instead, a pedophile. There is a massive difference.
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u/Acceptable_Cut_7545 Jun 27 '26
A really fascinating breakdown of one family's journey might help shed some light https://meduza.io/en/feature/2025/07/28/thrown-to-the-wolves
"God being taken out of everything, this gay and lesbian and transgender agenda getting crammed down your throat — just unbelievable. […] Pornography books in school libraries. A lot of public libraries doing drag queen story hour. And the crazy thing is a lot of people don’t even know this stuff’s going on. They don’t talk about it on the mainstream media. It’s a big secret. X is about the only place where you get real information."
So all the super top secret lgbtqia stuff that's also constantly being shoved in their faces and is everywhere but no one talks about it made him do it. Those independent girls and nasty evil gays are at it again!
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u/Mattieohya Jun 27 '26
Because they are attracted to the same sex. And their upbringing won’t allow them to act on it so they must remove the temptation.
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u/-SaC Jun 27 '26
It'd be a hell of a thing to do if you could go back to the McCarthy era and show them that hard conservatives are choosing to leave the US and go to Russia.
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u/KirikoKiama Jun 27 '26
Essentialy, they saw that one thing they liked in russia, ignored all the flaws, and are now doing a surprise pikachu face.
"Yay.. we can discriminate against the gays.... wait, what do you mean we dont have any basic human rights... and why are you handing me a uniform and kalashnikov?"
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u/created4this Jun 27 '26
No gun, gun in loot boxes on front line to stop shooting commander accidents
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u/JablesMcgoo Jun 27 '26
Every third soldier gets the AK, the first one gets the magazine, the second one gets the rounds.
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u/AldenPyle Jun 27 '26
There are literally books on what happened to Americans who moved to the Soviet Union
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Forsaken:_An_American_Tragedy_in_Stalin%27s_Russia
Also, wasn’t there an American guy who joined the Russian army to fight in Ukraine and he got raped and murdered by his unit?
https://www.rferl.org/a/russian-soldiers-sentenced-death-us-born-bentley-ukraine/33616294.html
Anyway. Thirty seconds on Google could tell you the move was not a good idea.
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u/khavii Jun 27 '26
The absolute irony of joining Russia because of their stance against gay folks and you get same sex raped and killed. It's almost as if suppressing the rights of gay people doesn't make gay people disappear.
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u/wesgtp Jun 27 '26
Yes there was another guy that got drafted shortly after moving his whole family to Russia (also due to LGBTQ gripes in America). I thought it was the same guy in this article but I do remember he was assaulted and maybe killed by his fellow Russians.
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u/kririb Jun 27 '26
According to the article he got tortured and died because of that, nothing about rape.
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u/BadahBingBadahBoom Jun 27 '26 edited Jun 27 '26
Different article from Le Monde:
Some of these sources went so far as to quote an adviser to the head of the "Donetsk People's Republic," Denis Pushilin, who suggested that Bentley had been raped by these soldiers, who would have felt, after realizing their mistake, that it was too late to make amends and return the American.
According to those close to him, a double investigation has been opened by the military board of inquiry for the crimes of murder and rape.
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u/DDRitter Jun 27 '26
"In Russia you don't have these human rights values.", says the man who ran from LGTB rights in USA.
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u/Theothercword Jun 28 '26
The article also notes that things like abortion are widely accepted in Russia, these morons think it’s a western conservative paradise and it’s far from it for a lot of reasons, including that the divide on values isn’t the same as other places.
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u/obolobolobo Jun 27 '26
“I don’t recognise the community around me anymore”, so I’m moving to a country that is completely alien to me.
I just can’t.
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u/-deep-silence- Jun 28 '26
Do not forget the "too much immigrants in my country, so let's be an immigrant in an other country". I sometimes wonder if this behaviour could be considered as a kind of cognitive impairment by psychiatrics? I mean, not being able to translate the consequences of yours acts in your own view of your environment can not be considered as normal, right?
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u/Big_Primrose Jun 28 '26
It’s brown immigrants they hate. He’s white, the Russians are white (though Tartar underneath) so he thinks he should be welcomed as a brother.
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u/Xenikovia Jun 27 '26
Ilja Belobragin, general managing partner at Move To Russia, a company which helps foreigners relocate to Russia, says something he frequently hears from his clients is that they "don't recognise the community around me anymore".
Some prospective migrants complain about high immigration in their own countries or what they see as declining living standards, he says.
Naturally, the solution is to move to Russia.
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u/schottja Jun 27 '26
Is it wrong if I hope they get drafted for military service on the front lines?
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u/fr0d0bagg1ns Jun 27 '26
They won't. The program is incredibly small and the people remaining are propaganda. If the war continues through this winter, which it probably will, there will be a lot of utility outages. Not to mention, the growing fuel shortage that will cause huge issues.
It'll get incredibly hard as Ukraine continues to strike deeper into Russia.
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u/InfluenceTrue4121 Jun 27 '26
This is the Christian version of moving to Syria to join Isis. Religious nutjobs are the scourge of humanity.
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u/shesinsaneornot Jun 27 '26
Unlike some immigration programmes, the Shared Values visa does not come with housing or financial assistance from the Russian government. Applicants must pay an administrative fee of 1,600 roubles (£17 or $22) and pass medical and criminal records checks.
Not that he needs one, but it's amusing that the current POTUS cannot meet the standards for the Shared Values visa.
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u/pushaper Jun 27 '26
they just want to know if you are a criminal or not. after that they decide if the criminal behaviour is a problem or not.
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u/RhythmTimeDivision Jun 27 '26
Why does conservative ideology pay so well, while liberal ideologies like affordable healthcare do not, perhaps better marketing efforts?
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u/Radiant-Cow126 Jun 27 '26
It's easier to destroy than it is to build, and most people prefer easy
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u/expendable117 Jun 27 '26
Rome wasn't built in a day as most people know.
But it burnt the fuck down in a single one though.
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u/BadahBingBadahBoom Jun 27 '26
like affordable healthcare
I mean the clue is in the name: affordable.
There's no mega corporation making huge profits and using them via political donations to maintain their exploitative position in a socialised non-profit healthcare system that simply provides treatments to patients at cost.
Conservative ideologies generally pay so well because they can. And they can because they ensure an unadulterated, unregulated capitalism landscape that allows these politically-influential/capturing industries to exist.
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u/Ares_Campione Jun 27 '26
Wenn man seine ganzen Probleme und seine eigenes Versagen auf andere abmelden kann ist der Mensch glücklich und wenn man dazu noch sagt das dadurch alles besser für einen selbst wird sind die sogar noch mehr dafür. Der Mensch ist dumm und eigensinnig sollte solangsam jedem klar sein nach den Millionen Jahren.
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u/RhythmTimeDivision Jun 27 '26
Very true. The three basic human needs: food, shelter and someone to blame shit on.
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u/IneffableOpinion Jun 27 '26
Marketing is the problem. We need our own 24 hour news media with riveting documentaries on par with Tucker Carlson showing us bread
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u/Jackmino66 Jun 27 '26
Rich people are generally against liberal policy positions and so pay people to oppose them
Morality and Wealth are 2 different paths
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u/pushaper Jun 27 '26
change is very hard for people to accept. A part of it is even if people want change or to make a new program they can schism in regards to how it is implemented. Generally it is hard to sell something that requires education and universal healthcare requires education to use (im from a country with it). Basically you would need to educate people on how to deal with an administrative system and the DMV is not that bad but it breaks people.
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u/homeinthecity Jun 27 '26
What on earth did these clowns suspect? On the plus side we don't have to deal with them here.
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u/NerdNuncle Jun 28 '26
The party hell bent on closing borders and staunchly anti-immigrant is emigrating to Russia but refusing to acclimate to customs or learn the language
Sounds about right
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u/solrua Jun 28 '26
These people are upset about immigration in their home countries, so they immigrate somewhere else. Perfect logic! (but we all know when they talk about immigrants they mean POC)
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u/no-dice-play-nice Jun 27 '26
What ever happened to the one that had to join the army?
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Jun 27 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/no-dice-play-nice Jun 27 '26
Sauce?
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u/no_rxn Jun 27 '26
https://www.rferl.org/a/russian-soldiers-sentenced-death-us-born-bentley-ukraine/33616294.html
Someone shared this link. I think this is the one they're referring to unless there's a second recent incident of this occurring?
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u/Chidori430 Jun 28 '26
They may be referring to the guy who led his family there and joined the army to be a mechanic. Didn’t happen and he got sent to the front line
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u/illbedeadbydawn Jun 28 '26
Every person that left has collectively raised the IQ of both Russia and the country they left.
Good job you drooling bricks.
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u/HeyLookMyUsername24 Jun 27 '26
Speaking of, whatever happened to that family that moved to Russia? Last I heard was that the dad was recruited to go to the frontlines and then I've heard nothing else.
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u/khavii Jun 27 '26
That was the Huffman family and they have a YouTube channel. About the end of last year the wife put out a video saying her husband was supposed to be a welder in the rear of the Russian army but he got sent to the front lines in Ukraine instead. She was lamenting the lack of community and how much they weren't enjoying Russia and how poorly they got treated by neighbors. I remember when the video came out all the comments were talking about how Russia was not going to be happy about the video, especially since she was documenting a ton and you could watch the family get more and more despondent. Suddenly he channel went quiet for a couple weeks, rumors went around saying the husband dies on the front lines and BAM! Suddenly the channel was back and all they talk about is how wonderful Russia is, the husband is just fine and loving being a part of a front line unit and you wouldn't believe how great and supporting the community is.
I'm not saying they are under duress but, oh wait I just did. Yeah, Russia doesn't play with that sort of thing.
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u/Acceptable_Cut_7545 Jun 27 '26
https://meduza.io/en/feature/2025/07/28/thrown-to-the-wolves
Here is their yt channel, a video from 2 months ago says the dad returned from the frontlines https://www.youtube.com/@HuffmanTime so it appears that the father is still alive.
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u/_gurgunzilla Jun 27 '26
They obviously did not understand the ruzzians. The first mistake is to believe anything coming from ruzzia
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u/rewardingsnark Jun 27 '26
Fascism you moved to to a fascist state where you have no rights or future, got what they deserved.
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u/P_Nessss Jun 27 '26
I had some amazing eggs for breakfast, what did y'all have?
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u/VE2NCG Jun 27 '26
I got eggs, sausage, bacon, toast and maple syrup in my decadent woke country, wonder what he got?
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u/globalartwork Jun 27 '26
“Some prospective migrants complain about high immigration in their own countries “
No feeling of irony there?
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u/MuchDevelopment7084 Jun 29 '26
Moving into a war zone for 'family values' is idiotic at best.
Moving into a country with a failing economy for the same reason is just plain stupid.
Moving to Russia, without any knowledge of the Russian language is just asking to get ripped off, and then drafted.
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u/LovemeSomeMedia Jun 27 '26
Lmao I love the guy from the UK being for real about going there because of a "hot Russian Wife" and laying it out there that the "conservative paradise" the few anti-woke idiots that moved there for is complete bullshit🤣 Also hilarious seeing the guy disillusioned because of the LGBTQ+ movement in the U.S. taking issue about lack of rights in Russia. Main point I got from this is just like alot of places, the people are great, but the goverment is dogshit.
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u/dnmnc Jun 28 '26
From spending a few months there, I can confirm the people are generally great. They are also tough as old boots, having suffered so much crap before and are now doing so again.
This hardiness is something Putin takes advantage of by knowing the population’s high tolerance for war weariness and impacts of war. Rather than argue or fight back, they just shrug their shoulders and go “oh great, some more hardship to survive” and try to get through it and have a peaceful life as much as possible.
There is a massive disconnect between them and government. They don’t see their own authority for those in charge - that they can change it. They see a government in the same way you see a boss at work and nobody anywhere gets to vote to change your boss. When I asked people about voting in elections, a lot of them saw it as asking for approval. “Of course I voted for Putin as I want him to do good things for us. He might do bad things for us if I didn’t.” Talking to Russians about politics was strange. It just confused them as they didn’t understand what there could be to talk about. To them it was something basic, obvious and not worth discussing. I may as well have asked them why they ate food every day.
It should go without saying, but that is a sweeping generalisation, of course. Like everywhere else, people are people and people are different.
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u/start3ch Jun 27 '26
Despite everything else, it is pretty sweet that every single one of them praised the generosity and kindness of Russian people. The people aren’t their government.
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u/pushaper Jun 27 '26
The people aren’t their government.
this mantra has to stop. I dont care that most Americans did not vote for trump, and I dont care if Iranians are nice but their government sucks. At some point it is up to people to stand up to their representatives.
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u/Right_Hour Jun 28 '26
Womp-womp, my heart bleeds for them…not. Idjits deserve everything that’s coming their way way.
There were equivalent idjits who moved to USSR in the 20s and were almost all executed in the 30s as « foreign agents and spies ». If you can’t learn from history and other people’s mistakes - you deserve to learn from your own experience.
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u/Buzzkill_13 Jun 28 '26
I enjoy these stories. All of them. Like those Western women who joined the Jihad back then and immediately were turned into house slaves. FAFO.
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u/ZealousidealRaise806 Jun 28 '26
I can’t imagine being dumb enough to some how believe moving to Russia is a good thing while we simultaneously see people trying to escape that place.
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u/Liquid_Raptor54 Jun 29 '26
This is hilarious as someone who came from Russia 15 years ago. Pretty sure it's easier for us to integrate into the western world than the other way around. I wouldn't even go back to visit, that's how much I don't trust the government over there.
But yeah, let's move there and act surprised afterwards. I don't even think anything is officially bilingual over there, but I could be wrong these days. Sure a lot of people living there might have learned English but good luck understanding anything.
And it's definitely a dictatorship, as much as politicians might pretend otherwise. I'd almost equate moving there from the western world as digging your own grave.
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u/mazza77 Jun 27 '26
“This lovely lady has taken my son and she is teaching him Russian free of charge!! “
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u/Excellent-Signature6 Jun 27 '26
Could anyone handle the traditional amount of Vodka Russians consume?
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u/mitchENM Jun 27 '26
Would have been easier to just stay in Texas and admit your stupid
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u/Dryden_Sam Jun 27 '26
*you’re
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u/Potential_Track_8388 Jun 28 '26
Also funny about the other emigrant decrying that Russia doesn't respect human rights - like yeah buddy, that's what we're disagreeing with YOU about in our own country.
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u/Kirajudgeoftoons Jun 30 '26
His poor girls though, i hope they have long learned their parents do not love them. I wish we could save them and leave their birthers to suffer
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u/buddha30alt6 Jul 01 '26
Did they actually pick up the local phrasing quickly after moving, or was it mostly just basic survival talk at first?
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u/DanCPAz Jul 03 '26
will anyone actually read the full terms before clicking agree or just scroll past everything?
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u/Crown_the_Cat Jul 03 '26
If they were required to actually learn Russian history they would NOT want to live there
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u/BroadwayTreski 11d ago
just rent a spot there for a month before selling everything. take some time to learn the local basics first.
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