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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsFamily that moved to Russia for "trad" values followup: Husband being sent to the Ukraine frontline
What's more traditional than being sent as fodder for a meat assault against Ukraine?
Link to tweet

GoCubsGo
(34,059 posts)brush
(60,556 posts)Is this phony? And then the guy joins the Russian army and is sent to the front that fast...come on, this has to be some made up shit.
WhiteTara
(30,939 posts)that he's on his way to the front. That meat grinder needs meat.
brush
(60,556 posts)something is fishy/sounds like BS.
WhiteTara
(30,939 posts)but neither did the North Koreans, they hit the front lines within a couple of weeks too.
brush
(60,556 posts)IMO it's phony bullshit that ordinary magats from AZ and TEX who don't speak Russian just pick up and move to Russia.
I may have been born at night, but no last night.
Bev54
(12,647 posts)all because they wanted to get away from LGBTQ and woke society. Nobody has ever claimed them to be the brightest of the bunch. They sold their farm in Sask and moved there and found out they could not even access their funds from the sale because of sanctions. I think eventually they got access to their money but did not speak a lick of Russian.
brush
(60,556 posts)Bev54
(12,647 posts)OMGWTF
(4,839 posts)Tired of being embarrassed and horrified by my country.
brush
(60,556 posts)slightlv
(6,094 posts)just to get away from the demands that you tolerate and avoid... if you can't be nice... to people with different values than you.
Ms. Toad
(37,283 posts)The Hares in 2023 from the US, and now this most recent family from the US.
These are only the ones publicized well enough that I know about them - generally because they were unhappy enough after they got there to speak out so the Leopards-eating-faces memes garnered them publicity.
mwmisses4289
(1,511 posts)Mom and Pop attitude in the pic almost seems like they are trying to convey "Hah! We own you now, libs!"
Not sure about others but my response:
brush
(60,556 posts)3Hotdogs
(14,348 posts)brush
(60,556 posts)I still say something smells.
quakerboy
(14,447 posts)have moved to the US. And Canada. And Europe.
These folks really see themselves as refugees. They really think they, as white folks in countries where they cant consistently control government to their full, uncontested liking, are therefore oppressed, and the really dumb ones are willing to flee to fairly random places to try to get out from under their perceived burdens.
From what Ive heard, many Russians do speak English, at least enough its possible to get around the country. Meanwhile, for Russia, its a PR get, so they were most likely happy to play along until it wasn't useful anymore.
Now.. if it were dozens, hundreds of folks doing it, id have some questions. But one (clearly unserious, deluded, and not very bright) family to do something that is clearly deluded, not very bright, and unserious.. is not terribly hard to believe.
brush
(60,556 posts)with neighboring countries...and they're not in much danger of falling out upper story windows.
Something is fishy.
jmbar2
(7,045 posts)You would assume they'd train them in their own languages. I'm assuming N. Koreans brought their own trainer/interpreters.
brush
(60,556 posts)quite a long time, years even, to be able to operate in a strange land. Arizonans/Texans bordering the Mexican border would be familiar with many Mexican words, but the Russian language and alphabet are entirely different to Americans.
IMO this is some phony crapola...maybe some are gullible enough to fall for it. And I guess they've been living under rocks here in America, so he joins the Russian army, I guess not knowing of the Ukraine War Putin is sending everyone who can walk to.
Come on. Made up BS.
Ms. Toad
(37,283 posts). . .
Foreigners fighting for Russia include citizens of Cuba, Nepal, Syria, Serbia, Afghanistan, Somalia and Malaysia. Their total number is probably in the thousands. Russia uses various methods for recruiting foreign soldiers. In Cuba and Nepal (Moscow has recruited several hundred individuals in both these two states), groups involved in enlisting foreigners (including by using deceit) and transporting them to Russia have been broken up. The Cuban government has adopted an ambiguous approach which suggests its tacit approval of this practice. The foreign ministry has distanced itself from involvement in these activities and condemned the enlistment of mercenaries, while the Cuban ambassador to Moscow stated that Havana did not object to the participation of Cuban nationals in the war in Ukraine as long as it is legal. The government of Nepal, for its part, has prohibited its citizens from seeking employment in Russia and Ukraine, and requested Moscow to send the conscripted Nepalese nationals and the bodies of those killed back to Nepal.
In Syria Russia has most likely conscripted just a few hundred new soldiers, contrary to reports suggesting that several thousand individuals volunteered for military service in the Russian army. The Ukrainian war enlistment campaign was likely carried out with the backing of the Kremlin-friendly Bashar al-Assad regime. The fighters enlisted mainly came from the governments troops; these may include the elite 25th Special Mission Forces Division and the Liwa al-Quds brigade made up of Syrian Palestinians, whom the Russians had previously trained to fight against the internal opposition and Islamic State.
Around a hundred Serbian nationals are also fighting on Russias side, including at least some who have justified their involvement in ideological reasons (a group of such individuals took part in the war in Ukraine back in 2014). Despite Belgrades pro-Russian sentiments and its restrained stance on the invasion, President Aleksandar Vučić has announced that Serbian mercenaries will face legal consequences, and has indirectly criticised Moscow.
The Kremlin has also attempted to enlist former soldiers of Afghan security forces who left Afghanistan following the Taliban takeover.
The Somali citizens who have been forcibly enlisted into the Russian army (there are at least eight such individuals) are an element of a bigger group which was arrested for violating passport regulations (these people attempted to enter the European Union from Belarus and Russia, the countries which have been putting migration pressure on the EU borders). Moscow has also conscripted foreigners who were serving sentences in Russian prisons; this is how individual citizens of Tanzania, the Ivory Coast and Zambia were incorporated into the Wagner Group.
https://www.osw.waw.pl/en/publikacje/analyses/2024-02-20/putins-foreign-legion-foreigners-fighting-war-ukraine
MorbidButterflyTat
(3,307 posts)"And, oh yeah! He doesn't have any money and he hasn't been paid and I can't send him money because we haven't been paid...."
Gee, I wonder if she wants people to send her money.
What's she doing anyway? Just wandering around Russia with her "traditional value" cell phone.
cab67
(3,436 posts)There's no requirement that recruits speak French.
Someone I know, who tried to join the FFL many years ago, told me about a fellow recruit from Mongolia. Not only did he not speak French, no one in the FFL spoke Mongolian. They managed to work something out, but I don't really remember what that was.
Response to brush (Reply #65)
markodochartaigh This message was self-deleted by its author.
eppur_se_muova
(39,408 posts)The simplest approach, but least likely, would be to issue orders in English(!), since it's understood as a second language by enormous numbers of people. French would be another obvious choice, especially for "recruits" from African countries. Impressed soldiers don't get the luxury of orders in their native language, a rule that goes back to antiquity. Ask the Romans, the Turks, the Mongols, the Cossacks, or anybody -- oh, heck even the Russians, who have been at it for centuries.
If you want to issue orders in Russian -- which I suspect is exactly what they do -- there's a *very* short list of one-to-three word phrases that would cover it. Like sailing a ship, which was often done by multilingual crews, and still is today.
Captain Zero
(8,114 posts)Be careful what you wish for.
Any word on the Canadian farming family that moved there in the last couple of years?
yardwork
(67,148 posts)carpetbagger
(5,301 posts)They have their land, everything's cheap, the university is teaching them Russian, they already know how to farm in the far north.
They're getting the compassionate, multicultural treatment they rail against when it's other immigrants. They're good until the kids hit draft age.
SergeStorms
(19,667 posts)You have to learn the Cyrillic alphabet first.
Prairie Gates
(5,645 posts)Incredible self-own.
Diraven
(1,446 posts)Torchlight
(5,072 posts)And her husband now enjoys the privileges and joys of being a tiny cog fighting for Putin's portfolio in that wonderful machine they now call home.
BoRaGard
(6,234 posts)
Celerity
(50,821 posts)Hassin Bin Sober
(27,150 posts)newdeal2
(3,345 posts)With MAGA/Trump written on it.
Even then I dont think this guy would think anything of it.
mwmisses4289
(1,511 posts)Wasn't there something about russia doing some kind of ad or pr thing in the u.s. trying to appeal to others like this woman and her family?
emulatorloo
(45,930 posts)DFW
(58,480 posts)The traditional values he was reading about on some RT or similar blog vanished in a puff of smoke, and were replaced by the traditional values of not-so-ex-KGB agent Putin.
He freed himself of western propaganda, and subjugated himself to Soviet-style propaganda. It may not have been what he thought he came for, but he did get what he came for.
yardwork
(67,148 posts)I wish that more Americans would self-sort themselves and go to authoritarian places like North Korea and Russia.
Then we could resume welcoming people who want to live in messy democracies.
DFW
(58,480 posts)The Germans have a good expression: die Revolution frisst ihre Kinder auf. The revolution devours its children.
Although it didnt really apply to the thirteen colonies, it certainly happened in France, Russia, Iran, and other countries over the centuries.
The one aspect that took me longest to accept was that so many people WANT to live under an authoritarian regime. It ran SO contrary to my own personal nature, that I couldnt get inside the heads of people who preferred it. I couldnt grasp that some people liked living in Francos Spain. I couldnt grasp that some people liked living in East Germany. What I perceived as freedom, they perceived as insecurity, and what I perceived as repression, they perceived as security, and they were willing to make the trade. In a way, its still what were up against. There is a reason so many churches are so full of people that dont really believe what they hear. As long as it is what they want to hear, they dont need to believe it. Same with Fox News. They feel no need to believe everything Fox tells them. They just need to hear it often.
3catwoman3
(27,132 posts)
of so many Americans not wanting the gubmint telling them what to do.
JI7
(92,309 posts)while they can be real men and don't have to worry about having to put on a dress or some shit.
I watched a bunch of Russia travel videos and the comments alwsys had racist Americans saying how great it looks becsuse they are all white and no gays send women look like women and other shit.
NJCher
(40,672 posts)by finding a copy of Escape from Freedom in the school library. I can even remember finding it on the shelf, pulling it off the bookcase and scanning over the contents. Probably spent a day and a half reading it and I recall the feeling of "well that explains that." I bought a copy and still have it. I think I was around 12 or 13 when I discovered this.
For MAGAts, it's kinda' like Barbie saying "math is hard."
Here's a few paragraphs of a review:
I also enjoyed Fromms discussion of the dilemma of freedom in modern democratic nations, where we are encouraged to be free, but this freedom is defined for us already and nobody truly has any thoughts, ideas or goals independent from society. Fromm isnt recommending anarchy, but that societys goals shift to the cultivation of minds and individuals rather than capital. Fromms solution to the freedom question is spontaneity, or a creative expression of love and work that unites man with nature and others and allows him to truly be himself without isolation.
Theres so much more that this book gets into, from how Protestantism created the ideological grounds for capitalism to how media in democracies is designed to placate the masses. In the end, this book made me think a lot more about what I really think, and Id recommend it to anyone whos interested in redefining their perception of freedom and individuality.
Had I not found this book, I'd have been as puzzled as you were by anyone wanting to live in an authoritarian regime.
And notice in the above 3 paragraphs how we here at DU picked up on all this and we frequently criticize it (media, for example).
NJCher
(40,672 posts)does anyone remember the thread about China pulling ahead of us in the economic race? I think it was posted yesterday or the day before. I read it but didn't have time to comment, and when I did, I couldn't find the thread.
I recall thinking we in the U.S. should focus on something else, other than constant "capital." Note in particular this statement from the review I posted:
Fromm isnt recommending anarchy, but that societys goals shift to the cultivation of minds and individuals rather than capital.
Hugin
(36,553 posts)Which the US currently sucks at and is getting worse with Smuk's total destruction of USAID and other tools of soft diplomacy.
All in pursuit of the golden calf of... Wait for it... Crypto.
Wicked Blue
(8,117 posts)They want a strong leader who will tell them exactly what to think and do.
Mr. Evil
(3,348 posts)That is Focksnooze (aka: Fox News) business model to a tee. They literally exist to tell a certain segment of our society what they want to hear. I can never wrap my head around how people can be like that. They can't seem to live without having their politics spoon-fed to them.
As for this family moving to Russia to experience more 'traditional values,' seems to me to be code for, 'they're mostly white.'
SpankMe
(3,526 posts)Please, self-deport. Move out. Don't try to change America into a totalitarian state. There are already existing totalitarian states that you can move to. Some of us prefer our messy democracy. Let us have it here.
yardwork
(67,148 posts)"America. Love it or leave it."
Maybe it's time we picked that up for ourselves.
Fullduplexxx
(8,520 posts)yardwork
(67,148 posts)dalton99a
(89,376 posts)tanyev
(47,106 posts)That was quick. Also interesting that he hasnt received any pay, but hes supposed to pay them $100 for supplies. Good luck with those traditional Russian values.
LisaL
(47,280 posts)NT
Omnipresent
(6,997 posts)
WhiskeyGrinder
(25,286 posts)LisaL
(47,280 posts)But yea. he volunteered, he wasn't drafted.
I'll bet he rests easy knowing there isn't any "woke, Marxist ideology" in fox holes.
Hugin
(36,553 posts)Operating largely on barter and corruption.
Just like the Republicans are crafting for us here in the USA with their BOHICA Law! MAGA!
The dude is getting exactly what he bargained for...
Lucky Luciano
(11,670 posts)dalton99a
(89,376 posts)American Father of Three Relocates Family to Russia, Joins Special Military Operation
23 May 2025, 22:01
Derek Huffman is the father of three daughtersaged 10, 11, and 12. In 2022, the family moved from Arizona to Texas to escape what they saw as the growing influence of LGBT ideology. But as political shifts spread across all states, the Huffmans made a drastic decision: to leave the U.S. altogether.
The final straw was when we found out my daughter Sophia learned about lesbians from a girl in her class. She didnt fully understand it, but for us, that was enough to realize something had to change, Derek Huffman told RT .
By May 2023, they began exploring relocation to Russia. A week-long trip to Moscow sealed their fate:
The city was cleaner, safer, and more orderly than we ever imagined. Most importantly, we found a place that respected our valueswhere we finally felt at home.
Friends and relatives supported their move. Dereks wife, an English teacher, plans to continue her profession in Russia. As for Derek himself, he enlisted in the military and applied for Russian citizenship before going to the war zone.
I want to contribute and earn our place here by serving in the Russian army. Ultimately, we aim to fully assimilate, gain citizenship, and build a bright future in this country, the American stated.
#MovingToRussia
Source: RT
tanyev
(47,106 posts)Guess I got them confused with the Canadian farming family.
Seems like one of his first tasks, when they started working on this back in 2023, would have been intensive work on learning to communicate in Russian. But anyone who thinks moving to Russia and enlisting in the military is a good life plan is already exhibiting poor thinking skills.
Botany
(74,701 posts)


Good thing that there are no lesbians in Russia.
The man is gonna be dead before the fall and his family will be shit out of luck.
BigMin28
(1,718 posts)Then she will hurry back to the US to collect Social Security benefits for her children from the country she so distrusts. If Texas is too liberal for you, you have deep issues.
Botany
(74,701 posts)quickly becoming drone bait. I hope the kids get back home and away from whatever fucked up
religion they are forced to follow.
SickOfTheOnePct
(7,825 posts)He could be seen as forfeiting his American citizenship by joining the Russian military and seeking Russian citizenship.
Captain Zero
(8,114 posts)I doubt it gets him back to Dallas though.
lostnfound
(17,082 posts)Judge not lest ye be judged.
Even if you arent open-minded or accepting of gays, the fallback position for Christians is supposed to be humility and kindness.
3catwoman3
(27,132 posts)forgotten/disregarded part of the teachings attributed to the Jesus the phony Christians claim to follow.
Cirsium
(2,740 posts)Matthew 6 and 7 are full of things Jesus said that that are ignored by MAGA.
6:5 And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
6:19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal.
6:24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
7:1 Judge not, that ye be not judged.
7:3 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?
7:12 Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.
7:15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
LudwigPastorius
(12,920 posts)Why didnt they just move to Utah?
Johnny2X2X
(23,056 posts)His life. Her freedom. Their whole families future.
FakeNoose
(37,811 posts)Sucks to be them!
Botany
(74,701 posts)
WalkingMan1959
(5 posts)Fled AZ, fled TX, fled US this will not end well for this family. Those poor childrens lives will be forever wrecked.
AverageOldGuy
(2,732 posts). . . heartbroken I tell you.
/s
riversedge
(76,547 posts)rpannier
(24,744 posts)Best_man23
(5,257 posts)That way, the "patriotic MAGAT" can get right up close and personal to the action.
LonePirate
(14,140 posts)mzmolly
(52,347 posts)oops!
UpInArms
(53,100 posts)What stupid people
ETA
An American named Derek Huffman, along with his three daughters aged 10, 11, and 12, relocated his family to Russia and engaged in the Special Military Operation (SMO)
In 2022, they moved from Arizona to Texas to escape what they perceived as the influence of LGBT propaganda. However, as political changes swept across the country, the Huffmans decided to leave the United States altogether.
Derek shared with RT, "The pivotal moment for us was when we learned that my daughter Sophia had heard about lesbians from a classmate. Even though she didnt fully grasp the concept, it was enough for us to realize that we needed a change. "
In May 2023, they began considering a move to Russia. A week-long visit to Moscow proved to be a turning point for their future:
"The city was cleaner, safer, and more organized than we had anticipated. Most importantly, we found a place where our values were honored, and we felt at home. "
tanyev
(47,106 posts)Reality has a way of intruding. Theres an even greater risk of it intruding horribly if you live in Russia.
UpInArms
(53,100 posts)The children will definitely pay a high price it is a tragic tale
mucholderthandirt
(1,604 posts)kkmarie
(257 posts)At least they don't have to worry about anyone talking about LBGTQ + stuff
dem4decades
(12,957 posts)chouchou
(2,129 posts)His daughter was confused about various sexual feelings? Ah...explain it to her...unless she's a vegetable.
mwmisses4289
(1,511 posts)nowforever
(551 posts)I'm sure this American will be drone fodder in about a month. It's the damn liberals that killed them with all there crazy ideas about freedom and human rights.
mgardener
(2,092 posts)Now they can drink it.
Liberal In Texas
(15,398 posts)Complete with food shortages, work drudgery and cannon fodder for Putin's dreams of conquest to remake the USSR.
Pototan
(2,714 posts)you have met the dumbest American possible, you then see a story like this and realize there is no bottom to these people.
Rebl2
(16,672 posts)just say, I dont care, do you? 🙄🙄🙄
Ray Bruns
(5,382 posts)
WinstonSmith4740
(3,358 posts)She's complaining that her husband's training is being done in Russian, which he doesn't understand. How much you want to bet she was at school board meetings demanding "English only" in schools? He didn't get the position he was told he'd get? Poor guy, but hey...he obviously has experience being lied to. No financially support? Only lazy people need a safety net, right?
I feel sorry for their daughters...their lives have been upended. Their father will in all likelihood go through Putin's meat grinder. I wish there was some way to let them come back, but make their mother stay there.
Democracy is messy and maddeningly slow. But it works.
Warpy
(113,680 posts)While I know a few people did fall for the family values lie (Russia's divorce rate is 73%, DV is legal), as soon as they found out a few things like they couldn't buy their own little chunk of Siberia to farm and no, they couldn't bring their guns with them and whaddya mean $400/month isn't enough to live on, eat potatoes 3 times a day like everybody else....they very quietly moved back here.
Stuckinthebush
(11,160 posts)They were brainwashed into believing that Russia is a great place for "traditional values". Their children will forever be impacted because:
Dad will not survive Ukraine. The probability that he will be snuffed out in a few months is very very high.
Mom will meet her demise from falling out of a high window due to her publicly shinning a light on how bad it is there
The kids - well - they will be in an orphanage or given to some Russian family and they will never see family in the USA again.
This is just one of the results of the far right insanity that we have experienced for years now.
Basso8vb
(1,185 posts)I only weep for their children.
Upthevibe
(9,638 posts)The sheer stupidity..........Good Lord...........
jmbar2
(7,045 posts)I'm sure that won't happen because they don't have "those" in Russia.
reACTIONary
(6,561 posts).... parents don't alway know what's going on with their kids. And some are more clueless than others.
Bev54
(12,647 posts)I havent heard much since they moved. Will have to look up and see if same has happened to them.
Kaleva
(39,640 posts)Bev54
(12,647 posts)Are they going to be drafted into the war?
After just over a year in the Nizhniy Novgorod region, whose climate and topography are remarkably similar to that of Saskatchewan, the Feenstras have acquired a 280-acre homestead, built a house, gained three-year residency permits, and are gearing up to start raising livestock and growing crops this spring.
https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Europe/2025/0311/russia-migrants-canada-west-melting-pot#:~:text=Arend%20(second%20from%20left)%20and,the%20Volga%20River%20in%20Russia.&text=A%20couple%20of%20years%20ago,their%20lives%20in%20northern%20Saskatchewan.
RockRaven
(17,619 posts)efhmc
(15,661 posts)Ping Tung
(3,005 posts)Never, ever, under no circumstances, volunteer for anything you imbecile.
republianmushroom
(20,614 posts)Bettie
(18,565 posts)Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.
They made choices, they are getting what they chose.
Weirdly, I have no sympathy for them. None.
Response to jmbar2 (Original post)
LudwigPastorius This message was self-deleted by its author.
peggysue2
(12,020 posts)Living the good life, eh?
Moral of the story: Don't move to Putin's Paradise.
marble falls
(66,989 posts)Iggo
(48,989 posts)Thats tragic.
struggle4progress
(123,773 posts)Blue Owl
(56,647 posts)Suckers!
Baitball Blogger
(50,443 posts)Still praying it away. Yeah, do that.
oasis
(52,470 posts)stupid actions.
Raftergirl
(1,670 posts)rurallib
(63,905 posts)You may get it
soldierant
(8,728 posts)but it's not as unbelievable as all that. Y'all who are sure it's phony are thinking of how an efficient professional military works. That is not how the Russians have. They have essentially anyone alive and breathing. Guns on't speak or undersand Russian and one doesn't have to in order to usethem - or for that matter to die.
Javaman
(64,244 posts)patphil
(8,085 posts)Life is cheap, rights are non-existent, and there's nothing you can do about it.
Maybe he'll survive, but probably not.
Same for his family.,
Why don't I feel any concern for these people?
I should, but it's just not there. They were used, and too stupid to realize it until it was too late.
Those "terrible" days back in the United States must seem like heaven for them now.
czarjak
(13,014 posts)Joinfortmill
(18,516 posts)Hassler
(4,443 posts)The Donald Trump Brigade.
democratsruletheday
(1,350 posts)......John Wayne said that I believe. Welcome to the war Derek.
Skittles
(165,953 posts)he never came across as very sharp
Renew Deal
(84,253 posts)This is the cost of freedom