1 month ago
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A BRITISH YouTuber who moved to Russia says it’s not the “conservative paradise” it’s cracked up to be, lamenting skyrocketing prices, easy divorce, racism and interrogations.
The stark realities of being a foreigner living under Putin’s dictatorship were a “culture shock” to the 25-year-old Brit, who moved to Kursk to be with his Russian wife a few years ago.
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Being called “stupid” by Russians, increasingly “crazy” rental prices and being under suspicion by the FSB were just some of the miseries of moving to the former Soviet state, Ben the Brit admitted in his latest video.
Ben ultimately suggested “staying home and fixing your own country” instead of trying to move to the “conservative paradise”.
“Running away to Russia is not going to fix your problems,” he admitted.
He said a decree last year by Putin had simplified the immigration process for people with “traditional Russian values” but said there was confusion around further decrees which suggested non-Russian citizens would need to sign up for national service to obtain residency.
Ben said he paid £6,000 for medical tests as part of his immigration process, which initially diagnosed him with a deadly infectious disease.
It was disproved the next day but the misdiagnosis almost cost him his entry into the country, and scared him into believing he’d die within 24 hours.
He was even held for six hours at the Estonia border when he first tried to enter as a tourist, and his now wife had been questioned by the FSB about their motives as well.
Ben said the perception that Russia was the “last bastion of moral, religious values in Europe” wasn’t accurate, admitting that parts of Britain and America hold more fierce traditional values.
“I hate to break it to you but Russia is not the paradise you think it is,” he said.
“Many places in America I’d consider more conservative than Russia.”
He said traditional values “rotting the west” such as divorce and abortion were widely accepted in Russia.
“The view on abortion is nowhere near as strict as it is in America or quite frankly, in Britain,” he said.
“Single mother families – you see them a lot and it’s generally accepted.”
He said the “biggest culture shock” was the “everyman for himself” mentality of Russians.
“The ‘queue’ seems to not have been invented in Russia,” he said, apparently mournful of British politeness to strangers when boarding public transport.
Although he said Russians were some of “the best people you could ever meet”, he admitted “people outright call me a bit stupid” for his burgeoning language skills.
He said prices for renting an apartment were “getting a bit crazy” and most advertise they’ll accept “only Russians”.
On the plus side, Ben said he loved the history, the culture and the people and said he felt safer in Russia than he did in Britain.
“Obviously it’s not a wonderland, it’s not free from crime,” he said.
He said overall, the move was worth it
“Things that are worth it are difficult,” he said.
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