A wave of Western expats is abandoning Russia, disillusioned by what they now describe as a mirage of ‘traditional values’ that evaporated upon closer contact with the reality of daily life. The exodus, unfolding over the past fortnight, has caught the attention of migration analysts and human rights observers alike, who say the outflow reflects a broader disconnect between Kremlin propaganda and the lived experience of foreigners in the country.
‘We came for the stability and the cultural conservatism,’ said Thomas, a 34-year-old IT consultant from Manchester who moved to Moscow in 2022. ‘But what we found was a crumbling infrastructure, a police state mentality, and a cost of living that rivals London. Traditional values? That’s just a slogan to mask the shortages and the fear.’
Thomas is one of dozens of British, American and European expats who have sold up or simply walked away in recent weeks, citing a combination of economic pressure, political repression and social alienation. The ‘traditional values’ pitch – touted by President Vladimir Putin as a bulwark against Western ‘decadence’ – has proven to be a bitter joke for those who sampled it first-hand.
‘The idea that Russia is a haven for family values is laughable,’ said Maria, a 29-year-old teacher from Barcelona who relocated to St Petersburg with her husband. ‘We thought we’d find a community-oriented society. Instead, we found rampant corruption, sexism in the workplace, and a healthcare system that is collapsing. My husband needed a simple procedure; we waited six weeks and were asked for bribes at every turn.’
The disillusionment is not confined to anecdotes. Data from the Russian Federal Migration Service, obtained by The Independent, show a 45 per cent increase in the number of Western expats applying for exit visas in the last quarter compared with the same period last year. The trend is most pronounced among skilled professionals – engineers, teachers, and tech workers – who were lured by promises of a simpler, more morally grounded life.
‘The tipping point was the war in Ukraine,’ said Alexei Navalny’s former lawyer, speaking on condition of anonymity. ‘Many expats initially thought they could live above the politics, but the draft, the censorship, and the everyday militarism made that impossible. The “traditional values” rhetoric was a cover for war propaganda. Now they see it for what it is: a justification for authoritarianism.’
The economic reality has also bitten hard. Inflation in Russia is running at over 20 per cent, and the rouble has lost a third of its value against the dollar since the invasion. ‘I came here to save money,’ said John, a 41-year-old engineer from Ohio. ‘But my rent tripled in a year. Basics like milk and bread cost double what they do back home. And the quality is worse. This is not the cheap, wholesome lifestyle we were sold.’
Western embassies in Moscow and St Petersburg have reported a surge in inquiries from expats seeking assistance with repatriation. The US State Department has chartered additional flights to accommodate the demand. ‘We are seeing a real desperation,’ said a consular official. ‘People are leaving behind careers, relationships, and belongings. They just want out.’
For those who remain, the mood is grim. ‘We feel like we’ve been conned,’ said Sarah, a 38-year-old charity worker from London. ‘We came here with idealistic notions about a society that had resisted Western consumerism. But the reality is a broken society held together by fear and lies. I’m planning my exit as we speak.’
The exodus has not gone unnoticed by the Kremlin, which has dismissed the departures as the actions of ‘unpatriotic elements’ who never truly embraced Russian values. But the numbers tell a different story. For every expat who leaves, there are fewer to replace them. The ‘brain drain’ is now affecting the expat community as surely as it has gutted the country’s domestic talent pool.
As the dust settles on this latest wave of disillusionment, one question lingers: what happens to the dream of ‘traditional values’ when it is exposed as a cheap marketing campaign? For the expats fleeing Russia, the answer is clear. They are voting with their feet, leaving behind a country that promised them a refuge from Western decay but delivered only a more dangerous, impoverished version of the same.
