Dan Hardoon

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What if I told you there was a promised land of incredible landscapes, rich history and untapped opportunity?

A country just waiting to roll out the red carpet to Westerners, frustrated with high income taxes, dysfunctional politics and creaking healthcare systems.

And what if I told you that country is Russia?

In September 2024, President Vladimir Putin introduced the Russian Shared Values Visa for citizens of 47 countries it considers unfriendly.

It's aimed at people who say they align with Russia's traditional spiritual and moral values, and it's become known as the Anti-Woke Visa.

Successful applicants are eligible for up to three years of temporary residency without needing to speak Russian or pass a Russian history or law test, as long as they reject what the visa calls the destructive neoliberal ideology of their own country.

I'm Dan Hardoon, and for the documentary from the BBC World Service, I've been following the journeys of Westerners uprooting their lives to move to Russia.

I'm wedded to these people.

I love this country.

I've been finding out what life is really like once they arrive and whether it lives up to the Russian dream being promoted on social media.

If you move into another country for political reasons, maybe just fix your own country first.

Russia isn't some utopia.

Kerry is a middle-aged woman from Ontario in Canada where she made her money investing in precious metals.

She's always been fascinated by Russia and remembers when she first heard about the shared values visa on X, formerly Twitter.

When Kerry sends me a voice note, she's just about to begin her new life in Russia, and she's only been there for a few days.

Kerry's experience is different from the Russia many people have in mind, a country that invaded Ukraine and now faces international sanctions and growing labour shortages.

But although she's only just arrived, you can really feel her optimism.

Kerry is one of a small but significant number of Westerners who've applied for the Shared Values visa.

Russia's Interior Ministry says nearly 3,400 applications have been received as of spring 2026, though the figures are difficult to independently verify.