For Those Who Know Russian...

 ... and have time to do some brief translation, that would be greatly appreciated. Just regular video of Russian Germans self-organizing in their return to Russia. There are very many of them who are already on the move and who are about to. Especially important is the phone call while in the car, when Vladimir (who is German visiting from Germany) and German family who help Russian Germans in their move to Russia speak to another Russian German guy who already made up his mind after his vacation in Spain and France and concluded that it is over for him and his family. One comment in Russian under this video in YouTube is telling:

Возвращайтесь, наши дорогие немцы! России вы нужны! А то, что при переезде будут проблемы, так это естественно, тут внутри страны переезжаешь и то проблемы возникают. Главное - если ваша душа там томится, не нужно мучиться, приезжайте. А кому там хорошо, ну и слава Богу.

Translation: Our Dear Germans, come back. You are needed in Russia. Don't be afraid of problems with moving, here, even when moving inside the country there are always problems. Most important, if your soul is languishing there (in Germany), do not suffer, just come back. For those who are feeling good there, God bless them.  

Vladmir is visiting Belgorod and some shots from there are very instructive, life in Russia goes on everywhere and Belgorod is a lovely forest-steppe town also known for Kursk Battle in 1943, and it grows today, not least through Ukrainians who moved to Russia after 2014. 

The reason I post this video, however, and consider it important is the fact that Russian (broadly--Soviet) Germans (and now German Germans in addition) are great demographics to judge both the state of West and Russia. Russian Germans are becoming a river of people returning home, while German Germans seriously considering to move or already moving to Russia are now numbered in many thousands. Apart from warm human story and people finding themselves there are other very important markers in these stories which are not immediately noticed by Westerners. As Vladimir notices when shopping in Auchan, some of his native German acquaintances visited Kigiziya recently and as he mocks them were shocked by the supermarket in Bishkek that "there is also food here!" OK, that's Kirgizya and many Westerners have no knowledge of the area, but truth is, many (due to propaganda) still think that once you get outside Moscow or St.Pete's glitz you will see utter poverty and drabness. Well, visiting suburbia in said Belgorod or Novosibirsk, especially in new areas may create a serious cognitive dissonance for many from the West. 

Here is a lovely brand new house in Tyumen in one of Tyumen's many new communities, around $100,000 or around R 7,200,000. 

You will be surprised how many people can afford such a loan in Russia. Some pay cash. Granted, Tyumen is a boom-town (mid-size city, really) and things are more expensive in the capital of Russia's service (as in producing equipment and maintenance) industry for oil and gas, among many other sectors of manufacturing. And then, of course, there are only two genders in Russia and all that combined makes a huge difference. All this gives us some glimpse of a tectonic processes in Germany (and Europe) and those may play a huge role down the road, that is why I treat them as a significant occurrence.

Reiteration Of The Point...

 I first made few years ago. Namely almost five ago. 

However, the immigration from Western Europe to Russia is a separate matter. How large is this flow of West European immigrants is difficult to assess as of now. Bar some very high profile people such as Steven Seagal or Ornella Muti getting their Russian citizenship, it is very difficult to even separate, such as in German case, if these are "native" Germans immigrating to Russia or Russian Germans who merely return, after their Germany's odyssey, back to their Russian motherland. Here is another example of Germans getting to settle in Russia.

Evidently Russian Germans begin to manifest their practical desires to move to Russia in thousands now.  Even despite the fact that some of them have small children and German children subsidies are higher than Russian ones (I admit, I don't know how Maternity Capital applies here). Many are Christians. Here is Klaus who consults German organizations and families who move to Russia. This is the original German language video. 

Here is his video with Russian dubbing.
 

I was surprised that many natives from Bavaria, Cologne area or Hamburg are also leaving for Russia. As I said many times, Germans, especially Germans from former GDR, not to mention Soviet (Russian) Germans are absolutely not alien to Russians. For all heavy history between two peoples, Germans also have been a significant part of modern (since 17th century) Russia's history. It is a given. Very many Germans still reside in Russia, especially Altai region and they are admired and viewed as.... well, Russians with German roots. Real patriots. One such story about German farmers in Altai (in Russian). I knew that numbers were significant but now that they are in thousands, one has to take a serious note. So, the trend is pronounced, including for Germans who return to Crimea. In an astonishing and deeply ironic turn of events, many Germans say that they go to Russia for liberty. Who would have thought. 

Yet, as Peter Hitchens, the one I respect, unlike his late verbose and highly opinionated brother, states and I agree with him:

We are throwing away our liberty. We are willingly and, in some cases, cheerfully throwing it away because we have ceased to value it. In fact, we are increasingly comfortable with being told what to do rather than deciding what to do for ourselves.” This is anathema to him. Liberty is “the most precious jewel we have in this country”, it is not just “an abstract concept because it decides how you live”.

I am afraid for the UK it is a done deal. US? We'll see. You can watch full interview by Hitchens here. And Hitchens makes a succinct point here:

However, Hitchens argues, the encroachment of the state and the destruction of liberty was to some extent stalled by the Cold War. If the argument of the Western powers was that the Soviet Union was a totalitarian state, it was untenable to impose state control over Western societies.  

I agree with him here completely. It was the issue of a contrast, granted significantly blown out of proportion, which was a restraining factor in otherwise creeping assault on liberty, and we all observe the fruits of this restraining factor disappearing today. Those are bitter, if not poisonous, fruits.