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Canadian farmer Arend Feenstra, who moved to Russia through a streamlined immigration program for citizens of “unfriendly” countries who share “traditional values,” has complained that he cannot get a permanent residence permit. The news outlet Nizhny Novgorod Onlain drew attention to his YouTube video.

Feenstra received a three-year temporary residence permit in Russia’s Nizhny Novgorod region in early 2025. He then brought his wife and eight children to Russia and began farming.

But Feenstra has now learned that to replace his temporary residence permit with a permanent one, he must sign a contract with Russia’s Defense Ministry.

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[-] tigermountain@lemmy.world 6 points 23 hours ago

I feel bad for his kids.

[-] captainlezbian@lemmy.world 1 points 16 hours ago

Surely getting over the fact that other people don't necessarily want to live your religious lifestyle would have been easier and safer

[-] BeMoreCareful@lemmy.world 1 points 19 hours ago

That's a clever work visa program lol.

[-] RememberTheApollo_@lemmy.world 10 points 1 day ago
[-] T00l_shed@lemmy.world 16 points 1 day ago

Fucking hilarious, I hope we dont accept him back, when his permit expires

[-] PhoenixDog@lemmy.world 21 points 1 day ago

Enjoy living in the airport with your wife and 8 children, shitstain. Hope it was worth it.

I understand what it’s for and why [the authorities] want you to sign it.

I’d rather take my chances in Canada, though I think living there is risky too.

Last I checked, as a Canadian the only military defence contract I had to sign was when I voluntarily joined the armed forces, not just existing as a Canadian.

These people cannot be this stu....No.. No they are this fucking stupid. They are stupid, dumb mother fuckers.

[-] T00l_shed@lemmy.world 5 points 1 day ago

The only ones I feel sorry for, would be his young children

[-] CedricWhaley@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 points 1 day ago

Also, AFAIK Canada isn't actively trying to invade any of their neighbors.

[-] Nomecks@lemmy.ca 4 points 1 day ago

But in Canada they're trying to make non-family farm workers eligible for worker's compensation. The horror!

[-] Lushed_Lungfish@lemmy.ca 20 points 1 day ago

As a Canadian, I truly hope that others like him follow his example.

We don't need their kind around here.

[-] PhoenixDog@lemmy.world 9 points 1 day ago

I truly hope that others like him follow his example.

Glares with hostility at Alberta

[-] mrgoosmoos@lemmy.ca 4 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

let them leave, don't let them come back

[-] myyass@lemmy.world 7 points 1 day ago

Well I feel bad for the eight children. Enjoy being fodder and not at a farm.

[-] SnarkoPolo@lemmy.world 7 points 1 day ago

Now if only a few hundred US MAGAts would follow his example

[-] ChickenLadyLovesLife@lemmy.world 29 points 2 days ago

The "traditional values" of heavy drinking and autocracy?

[-] BauerBender@lemmy.world 7 points 1 day ago

But they have shopping carts that can go up escalators.

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[-] TrackenDaKracken@lemmy.world 10 points 1 day ago

Good to know. Because, I was just about to move there. I hear Siberia is lovely in the winter. Also, I was promised a free trip to Ukraine. Two countries for one price, what a deal!

[-] Gaslov@lemmy.world 9 points 1 day ago

The most unbelievable part of this whole story is that someone would admit to their mistake.

[-] Tollana1234567@lemmy.today 26 points 2 days ago

the idiot also likely doesnt want to learn Russian, which is required if you want to surive in russia.

[-] mobyduck648@lemmy.world 3 points 1 day ago

Fucking hell, getting some language skills would be the sole upside of this entire idiotic affair.

Russian is a legit language of world literature, which would be useful since his life will probably contain suffering comparable to Dostoyevsky's characters.

[-] jagermo@feddit.org 1 points 6 hours ago

Bold assumption that he would read

[-] kestrel7_7@lemmy.world 33 points 2 days ago

Oh yeah. Been following this guy for the schadenfreude for awhile. When he first moved there he was surprised that workers at the random Russian bank he went to didn’t speak English. Dude is so fucking stupid

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[-] spaghettiwestern@sh.itjust.works 166 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

I didn’t come here to sign a contract. I’d rather take my chances in Canada, though I think living there is risky too.

You'd have to watch Canadian society treat people you hate with respect. The horror.

[-] UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world 65 points 2 days ago

Nonsense. Just move to Alberta.

All the racists and incel roughnecks and insane police violence and systematic rape of first nations peoples. You just don't have a risk of being pushed into the Ukraine meat grinder.

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[-] spacehulk@lemmy.zip 16 points 2 days ago

The only way to guarantee citizenship is to enlist? Sounds familiar..

[-] Lyrl@lemmy.dbzer0.com 6 points 1 day ago

Is sadly better in that respect than the US, where we require complicated paperwork to gain citizenship through military service, and deport those veterans who make errors or miss paperwork deadlines.

[-] iuseasahibtw@ani.social 41 points 2 days ago

Thinking that Russia, a country with the highest rate of HIV, abortion, CSAM, child prostitution, and drug use has traditional values is proof that online propaganda works.

[-] BauerBender@lemmy.world 11 points 1 day ago

Traditional conservative values.

[-] PhoenixDog@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day ago

Yeah, but they mentioned aborti.....

Wait, their abortion is the only moral abortion. Nevermind.

[-] SkyezOpen@lemmy.world 8 points 1 day ago

CSAM, child prostitution

Glances at news

My guy I think those ARE the traditional values they want.

https://www.dailykos.com/user/cajsalilliehook/

[-] PhoenixDog@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day ago

The fact the media calls children who are raped "Boys" and "Young women" is all you need to know. It's never "little girls" who are assaulted, it's "young women"

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[-] yesman@lemmy.world 98 points 2 days ago

This guy hates gay people so much he moved his family to Russia. But he doesn't hate them enough to die in Ukraine.

It's ironic that a Christian got in trouble because they couldn't hate enough.

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[-] some_guy@lemmy.sdf.org 55 points 2 days ago

Thoughts as I was reading this:

He then brought his wife and eight children…

This is not someone who should be taken seriously. Not normal.

He also said his family no longer recommends that other foreigners move to Russia because the authorities keep changing the rules and “there’s no way forward.”

Haha, loser. Imagine finding out in 2026 that the Russian state is corrupt.

Since November 2025, foreign men ages 18 to 65 who are deemed fit for military service have been required to sign a contract with the Defense Ministry to obtain a permanent residence permit in Russia. People who moved to Russia through the “traditional values” program are not exempt from this requirement.

Go get killed for the state, moron. Why do you think they let you in? Because they're nice and friendly? They need cannon fodder, you dolt.

[-] FearMeAndDecay@literature.cafe 21 points 2 days ago

I thought one of the "traditional values" these guys love is men being protectors? So he should be thrilled to serve in the military to "defend" his family and the "traditional values" he loves so much

[-] boonhet@lemmy.zip 30 points 2 days ago

What's more traditional values than dying for your liegelord in an offensive war that doesn't benefit you even if won though?

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this post was submitted on 04 Oct 2026
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