Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP
Russia has decreed that it will help people seeking asylum from neoliberal ideals being put forward in their countries which run “counter to traditional Russian spiritual and moral values”.
A decree signed by president Vladimir Putin gives foreign nationals the right to apply for temporary residence in Russia “outside the quota approved by the Russian government and without providing documents confirming their knowledge of the Russian language, Russian history and basic laws.”
Applications may be based on the rejection of their countries’ policies “aimed at imposing destructive neoliberal ideals on people, which run counter to traditional Russian spiritual and moral values.”
The values are listed in the foundations of Russia’s state policy in this field, which may pertain to immigration, homosexuality and gender fluidity.
In 2019, Putin told the Financial Times newspaper that German Chancellor Angela Merkel had made a cardinal mistake by adopting a liberal policy towards immigration from the Middle East.
“The liberal idea presupposes that nothing needs to be done. The migrants can kill, plunder and rape with impunity because their rights as migrants must be protected. What rights are these? Every crime must have its punishment,” Putin said in the interview.
He also said Russia is not homophobic, but that a Western willingness to embrace homosexuality and gender fluidity seemed excessive to him.
“Traditional values are more stable and more important for millions of people than this liberal idea, which, in my opinion, is really ceasing to exist”, he said.
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