President Putin Wants Foreigners with Traditional Values ​​to Move to Russia

The Russian President spoke with an Italian student named Irene, discussing how to make it easier for people with traditional values ​​to move to Russia

During a televised panel discussion, an Italian student studying in Moscow spoke with President Vladimir Putin, and she suggested making it easier for foreigners who share traditional values ​​to move to Russia.

This exchange took place on February 20, 2024, during the fourth annual forum “Strong Ideas for New Times” held by the non-profit organization “Agency for Strategic Initiatives to Promote New Projects”.

Here is a translated transcript of the dialogue between Putin and the Italian student:

Irene Cecchini — student from Milan, Italy

Cecchini: Dear Vladimir Vladimirovich! Ladies and Gentlemen! Good day.

My name is Irene Cecchini, I am an Italian citizen and a fourth-year student at the Faculty of International Relations at Moscow State University. I have been living in Russia for three years now and over the years I have really fallen in love with Russia, its rich culture and the people who live here.

Thank you, Vladimir Vladimirovich, that today in Russia there is an opportunity to propose ideas to you and receive support for their implementation. I came to the “Strong Ideas for New Times” forum with an idea that will surely help many foreigners who dream of moving to Russia and sharing Russian values.

Personally, I had great difficulties applying for and obtaining the visa and temporary residence permit.

That's the first thing. I expected more service from the migration office, but unfortunately there was a lack of information and measures.

Secondly. Everything takes a very long time. I applied for a temporary residence permit four months ago and still haven't received a response. Even though I was told I should receive them within 30 days.

And thirdly, but most importantly. In principle, I cannot get a residence permit and live here in Russia because of my values.

Vladimir Vladimirovich, I have suggestions for you. Allow foreigners who share our values ​​and dream of moving to Russia to do everything quickly and easily. I even suggest a new Russian word: “impatriation.” This means moving to Russia permanently based on cultural, traditional and family values. All of this would be beneficial for Russia because people would bring new skills, that would be entrepreneurs, that would be the country's population, that would be an additional contribution to the economy and additional qualified people.

I even propose setting up a special organization to provide individual support in the provision of services, that is, cultural, labor and social services, to people who want to move here. And I even suggest organizing information for immigrants about the possibilities of moving to Russia via an online platform.

Vladimir Vladimirovich, I personally am ready to help and obtain Russian citizenship to build my future life in this beautiful country - Russia.

Thank you.

Vladimir Putin: Thank you. May I ask a few clarifying questions?

Cecchini: Of course.

Putin: You said you fell in love with Russia. And that's it? Didn't you fall in love with anyone else here? ( Laughter in the audience .)

It's just that if that were the case, everything would be very simple, it would be easy to get everything done.

Cecchini: No, first and foremost…

Putin: Strange, such a beautiful girl and still hasn't fallen in love with anyone.

Cecchini: Thank you.

Putin: But people have probably already fallen in love with you, I'm 100 percent sure, and that happened to many in the room during your speech. Where are you from, which region of Italy?

Cecchini: I come from the Milan region.

Putin: From Milan?

Cecchini: Yes.

Putin: Northern Italy.

Cecchini: Yes, that's right.

Putin: This is a good place, an industrially developed region of Italy. Italy was always close to us. I remember how people greeted me there when I came to Italy. In some places I felt completely at home, that's for sure. Milan is a working province of Italy, the industry is well developed.

And what you just said about sharing our moral and traditional values ​​is exactly what I was talking about. This means that these are not just our values, in fact many people in Europe adhere to these very values. So that's great.

The idea is good to be guided by traditional moral values ​​when welcoming people who want to live here with us, but how can we determine what a person's real values ​​are?

Cecchini: The most important role would have to be played by the migration office; There should be specialists who understand very well who is in front of them and what these people are doing. And they could show everyone how these people can live beautifully here in Russia.

But in terms of values, how can we understand whether these people share those values? I'm not an expert, I don't work in the migration office, but you have to understand what the values ​​are and what Russia offers. I can give examples.

There is tolerance in Russia. Russia is a multinational, multi-religious country. And now I can say that in the West, because I lived there, in Italy, it is very difficult to find a country where different peoples live together in a friendly manner. This is one of the values ​​that Russia wants to preserve.

Second: Nowadays homosexuality and transgender are widespread. These are new values, and people who perfectly understand that these are not traditional values, not family values, who want to preserve their faith, they live in an unfriendly environment, and so they think: 'Where can I feel protected?' And there is an answer to this question: Russia.

Putin: I understand, Irene. Please sit down. It's kind of awkward to talk while you're standing. Please sit down.

The suggestion is very good, it is very important for us. Actually like for every other country, including in Europe.

What Irene is certainly right about is that we have people of different nationalities, 190 ethnic groups, different denominations - four traditional denominations, but in fact we have more faiths - and overall they all feel comfortable. That's correct.

By the way, we are quite tolerant towards people with non-traditional sexual orientation. We just don't flaunt it and don't think it's right to flaunt it. All adults should live the way they want, no one restricts them in anything. But as far as the children are concerned, I have often said: Leave the children alone. That's all. That's the first.

Secondly, we are indeed, first and foremost, a state focused on traditional values. You are absolutely right here.

Of course, determining what type of people come to us requires an individual approach. You're right, Irene. And of course our migration offices are not ready yet, that is clear. There is a lot to do here. There are different ideas here.

Regarding repatriation. We didn't have such a legal concept before. Now we have this term and it defines who can be recognized as a returnee. From what I remember there are four to six positions. I won't go into detail now, but there is. We definitely need specialists like you, but you don't fall into this category. But what we definitely need are highly qualified specialists and we must manage and align our migration offices in such a way that people with a high level of intellect and qualifications come to us to work and live here permanently. Of course we will orientate and expand the migration offices; there are certain thoughts and ideas here.

I heard what you said. You also met the twelve because this topic is very topical for Russia, because there is also something called labor migration. But we have a lot to do here too.

Alexander Shokhin, who heads our largest business association, will confirm that there is a shortage of 2.5 million people in the labor market. This is what our economy can offer now. That's 2.5 times the unemployment rate. According to official figures, we have somewhere between 450,000 and 460,000 unemployed, but there is a shortage of 2.5 million people.

Construction, industry and so on are ready to hire hundreds of thousands of people, immediately. But we also have to do the appropriate work here, and the quality of it must be improved. We still have to work with people in the countries they want to come from. We have to ensure that these people unconditionally adhere to our laws, traditions, including in the regional context, traditions of the regions they come to, that they learn the language and so on. There is still a lot to do here.

But of course, the best way to solve all problems, especially in the field of industrial relations and to solve the problem of labor shortages, is to increase the birth rate and improve the demographic situation in the country, that is quite clear. We are also following this path and we will certainly increase the government's efforts to support families, children and motherhood. This is a separate topic, but it is all closely related.

Your idea is correct and thank you for pointing this out, we will move in that direction.

And where would you like to be in the future, if your opinion does not change and you want to stay in Russia, where would you like to settle and work?

Cecchini: It's still too early, but I want to connect my life with the development and improvement of Russia, because Russia has given me very, very much. I would like to thank this country and help it in concrete ways.

Putin: Allow me to wish you success. We are interested in that too.

Cecchini: Thank you very much.

Source: kremlin.ru (Russian)