15:55, 19 August 2024Source: Legal Information Portal

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree “On providing humanitarian support to individuals who share traditional Russian spiritual and moral values.” The document, signed on August 19, is posted on the website of the legal information portal.

The decree was adopted “in order to protect fundamental human rights and freedoms, and to support individuals who have made a free choice in favor of spiritual, cultural, and legal ties with the Russian Federation,” the document says.

By his decree, Putin allowed, in exceptional cases, to grant foreigners and stateless persons a temporary residence permit without taking into account the approved quota and a document confirming proficiency in the Russian language, knowledge of Russian history and the fundamentals of Russian legislation.

This right, the document states, can be obtained by foreigners and stateless persons “who have expressed a desire to move to the Russian Federation to live from foreign countries… based on their rejection of the policies implemented by these countries, which impose destructive neoliberal ideological attitudes that contradict traditional Russian spiritual and moral values.”

The decree notes that the list of countries that “impose destructive neoliberal ideological attitudes that contradict traditional values” must be approved by the Russian government upon submission by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Putin ordered that Russian diplomatic missions issue single-entry visas valid for three months to those who apply for a temporary residence permit based on “rejection of policies that impose destructive neoliberal ideological attitudes.”

Most of the provisions of the decree will come into force on September 1, 2024.

In November 2022, Vladimir Putin approved the “fundamentals of state policy for the preservation and strengthening of traditional Russian spiritual and moral values.” The document states that traditional values ​​”are moral guidelines that shape the worldview of Russian citizens.” These values ​​include 17 concepts, including  “high moral ideals” and “historical memory and continuity of generations.”

In July 2024, the State Duma adopted a package of laws introducing a new special expulsion regime for migrants. The amendments, in particular, oblige migrants not to interfere in the foreign and domestic policies of the Russian Federation, and also to “respect traditional Russian spiritual and moral values, including the idea of ​​marriage as a union between a man and a woman.”

(C)MEDUZA 2024