US EditionFather Who Moved Family to Russia to Escape ‘Woke’ America Is Sent to Front Line
RUSSIA, JUL 21 – Derek Huffman enlisted in the Russian military expecting a non-combat role but was deployed near Ukraine’s frontline with minimal training, raising concerns over his safety, family says.
- Derek Huffman, a 46-year-old father from Texas, moved his family to Istra, Russia, earlier this year under Vladimir Putin's 'shared values' visa scheme and subsequently enlisted in the Russian military.
- In August 2024, Putin introduced a visa program intended to welcome foreigners opposed to what he describes as "destructive neoliberal ideology," offering expedited pathways to residency and citizenship.
- Huffman initially agreed to serve in a non-combat role, expecting to work as a welder or war correspondent despite his limited military experience and understanding of the Russian language, and the family publicly documented their relocation.
- His wife, DeAnna, expressed fears he was being 'thrown to the wolves' after receiving minimal training conducted in Russian, and reports note he has been sent near the front line, though exact details remain unclear with no proof of front line combat.
- The case illustrates Russia's strategic use of this visa to attract Western migrants amid demographic challenges and wartime losses, serving both economic interests and a wider ideological narrative promoted in state media.
31 Articles
31 Articles
Russia's 'shared values' visa
Social media is littered with accounts of Westerners who say they are moving to Russia to escape what they deem society's moral decline – and what others see as much-needed migration and the fight for LGBTQ+ rights.For those determined to make the move, there is a way: since last year, Russia has offered a "shared values" visa scheme, aimed at attracting foreigners who reject what Vladimir Putin calls "destructive neoliberal ideology". The presi…
American father of three who joined Russian army to escape ‘woke’ US has been sent to the frontlines, wife says
Derek Huffman, 46, claimed he was being tossed under the bus after being deployed to the frontlines in Ukraine despite assurances from the Russian military that he would be serving in a non-combat role, his wife DeAnna said
The Advocate
Gay Pride - LGBT & Queer VoicesConservative dad moved to Russia to get his kids away from 'woke' — now he's been sent to war
The Huffman family left the U.S. for Russia — and got more than they bargained for
Father who ran to Russia with family to escape woke America is sent to front lines to fight
Trading we for war, an American family that moved to Russia to escape leftist ideology, believes their patriarch has since been “thrown to the wolves.” (Video Credit: […]
Father who ran to Russia with family to escape woke America is sent to front lines to fight · American Wire News
Trading woke for war, an American family that moved to Russia to escape leftist ideology, believes their patriarch has since been “thrown to the wolves.” (Video Credit: Huffman Time) As President Ronald Reagan said in his first inaugural address, the United States is the “last and greatest bastion of freedom.” That reality failed to sink in for a Texas family that moved to a town outside Moscow, Russia, to escape “woke ideology,” only to find th…
Moscow’s Latest Sucker Is a Texas Man Who Wanted to Escape 'Woke America'
Nikolay Nekrasov once asked: “Who can be happy and free in Russia?” Centuries later, the poet might just have his answer: the anti-woke. Since late last summer, aspiring Muscovites “in favor of spiritual, cultural and legal relations with the Russian Federation” can get a three-year pass into the country through Russia’s “shared values visa,” Vladimir Putin signed the decree to provide “humanitarian support” for those facing “destructive neolib…
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