As many as 1,500 “ideological immigrants,” including 127 Americans, have applied for temporary residence in Russia in the last year.

As many as 1,500 “ideological immigrants,” including 127 Americans, have applied for temporary residence in Russia in the last year.

Two years ago, Derek and DeAnna Huffman were desperate to leave Humble, a suburb of Houston. Their three daughters, they believed, were being brainwashed by public school and mainstream media to support LGBTQ rights. American culture in general no longer offered white people the same opportunities as other races, they said.

The couple yearned to live in a place that shared their “Christian values” and where they “weren’t going to be discriminated against” as white, politically-conservative Christians.

So in March, the Huffmans became the first family to move to a community planned for fellow English-speakers some 30 miles west of Moscow, a project they had been following online run by long-term American expat and former Kremlin-sponsored RT host Tim Kirby. The family is among a small but growing number of Americans who have moved to Russia because the United States, in their opinion, has become too “woke."

    • beella@lemmings.worldEnglish
      631·
      17 hours ago

      Humble is about 45 minutes from the center of Houston. It’s definitely becoming a victim of urban sprawl.

      Texas in general is a shithole though that only cares about personal freedom when it’s convenient for business owners.

      • tyrant@lemmy.worldEnglish
        35·
        15 hours ago

        So funny Christians feel persecuted and like they don’t have personal freedom. They want the Bible in the classroom, 10 commandments on the wall, drag queens to stop performances, and folks with brown skin deported but heaven forbid someone teaches their children they are free to love whomever they want or be whoever they want.

      • SolacefromSilence@fedia.io
        33·
        16 hours ago

        Texas in general is a shithole though that only cares about personal freedom when it’s convenient for business owners.

        Is there another version of IRL conservatism?

        • InternetCitizen2@lemmy.worldEnglish
          16·
          16 hours ago

          Yeah, the one where your forced to move to Russia because you don’t have the capital be be an individualist where you spawned

    • tal@lemmy.todayEnglish
      36·
      16 hours ago

      https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2025/09/16/how-religious-is-your-state/

      Religious profile of Mississippi

      1st most religious state overall

      61% (1st) say religion is very important in their lives

      54% (1st) say they attend religious services at least monthly

      62% (1st) say they pray daily

      74% (1st) say they believe in God or a universal spirit with absolute certainty

      50% in Mississippi are highly religious, based on an overall scale of religiousness

      There was a much easier and better choice than Russia if they wanted to up their “more Christian environment” game.