Bizarre 'Time to move to #Russia' advert boasts cheap energy

Bizarre 'Time to move to #Russia' advert boasts cheap energy
Russia has been mocked over a bizarre promotional video intended to encourage emigration to the pariah state entitled 'Time to Move to Russia'.

With a gravelly voiceover that sounds comedic and a monotonous listing of national qualities that feels satirical, it has baffled viewers as to whether it is a parody or actually serious.
The Russian embassy in Spain tweeted the 53 second clip with the titles of the video followed by white, blue and red hearts of the Russian flag on Monday

It is unclear if the video is an official Kremlin production.

The video is accompanied by glossy stock footage of typical Russian scenes ranging from wholesome visuals of children running through fields and Russian cuisine to monuments like the All-Russian Exhibition Centre.

But it soon drops any pretence of being sincere.

Among the reasons to move to Russia it lists are: 'cheap gas, no cancel culture' and 'an economy that can withstand thousands of sanctions.'

And the clip ends with a timely reminder to European leaders: 'Don't delay... winter is coming.'
On the other hand, it also extolls the 'rich history, world famous literature, unique architecture, ballet and hospitality' of Russia in a manner that makes the country look quite appealing.

It also boasts of Russia's 'traditional values' and 'Christianity' and lists 'beautiful women' as though they are a national resource, indicating the cultural values that potential emigres can expect.

The clip also finds space to proudly celebrate Russia's 'cheap taxi and delivery, cheap electricity and water' and 'vodka.'

The response on social media has been a mixture of withering and supportive, although given the Kremlin's troll armies it is always difficult to know if the positive messages are genuine.
'Beautiful women? Aren't there any good looking men?' one Twitter user asked.

'No cancel culture, just gulag,' another one commented.

A Spanish user observed that the video spouted the same program as Vox, the Spanish far-right political party.

'They fail to mention the violation of human rights, the violation of international law, not to mention that it is the country in which peaceful protest is punished with several years in jail, where if you are an opponent of the regime they execute you with Polonium or with two bullets,' one user writes.

A plethora of comedy videos have been cut by internet users playing the same audio over different clips of the darker underbelly of Russia.

Some enterprising re-edits include passed out men on a horse-drawn wagon for 'cheap taxi and delivery' and children dressed up as invader 'Z' tanks for 'traditional values'.

The emigration drive comes at a tough time for Russia as its population shrinks and its life expectancy is one of the lowest in the OECD, at just 65.1 years in 2013.

Given the stagnation of the Russian economy in the intervening years, it is unlikely that statistic has improved.

On top of the low life expectancy, Russia's population shrank by a record average of 86,000 people a month between January and May, state statistics agency Rosstat reported.

The Moscow Times writes that Russia's population has been in near-constant decline for decades, and the coronavirus pandemic led to the country's largest natural population decline since the end of the Soviet Union in 2021.