Conservative who moved to RUSSIA with family to escape LGBT ideology now says she hates it because locals don’t speak English… then begs for forgiveness after Kremlin hears insults
A right-wing Canadian family was left stranded and destitute in Russia after moving to escape ‘LGBT ideology’ – only to have their bank accounts frozen.
Arend Feenstra and his wife Anneesa made the decision to move their family of ten to Russia a month ago, but their dream seemed to go downhill quickly upon arrival.
The proceeds from the sale of their farm in rural Canada were immediately frozen because their Russian bank deemed the amount ‘suspicious’, and their fight led to Anneesa going into a tirade about their new home – which only made matters worse .
In a now-deleted video on YouTube, she decried her inability to speak the language or solve their problems, saying she was “very disappointed in this country right now.”
“I’m ready to jump on a plane and get out of here. “We have arrived at the first problem in this country where you have to use logic, and it is very, very frustrating,” she reportedly said.
After the video was deleted from their account Countryside AcresArend shared a groveling apology video in which he said their “thoughts are not always conveyed well.”
In a sequel video from February 11Arend said their assets are no longer frozen and that they plan to stay in the former Soviet country “for the long term.”
Arend Feenstra and his wife Anneesa (pictured together) have attracted attention after moving their family of ten from rural Canada to Russia to escape ‘LGBT ideology’
The right-wing family’s move hit a snag as their bank accounts were frozen as soon as they arrived in Russia
When the family made the move, Arend justified the decision in a press conference, saying that “Canada is no longer the same country as it used to be.”
“We didn’t feel safe with our children there and for the future,” he said. “There’s a lot of left-wing ideology, LGBTQ, transgender, just a lot of things that we don’t agree with that they’re teaching there now.
‘We wanted to get rid of that for our children. But agriculture also has better opportunities for economic reasons. We thought Russia was the best.’
He emphasized that Russia has the “strength” to “stand up to Western pressure,” and that the Kremlin “could keep that stuff out for years.”
“Other countries are under Western influence and would not be able to compete with it,” he concluded.
In previous videos, Arend reportedly ranted about his “disgust” at seeing “gay flags everywhere” in his neighborhood, claiming it was a bad thing that it is “almost openly celebrated and worshipped.”
The homophobic family’s decision to flee to Russia comes two years after the country passed one of the strongest anti-LGBT laws to date, effectively banning any public display of support for homosexuals.
Before their move, the family said they had received assurances from Russian officials that they would help settle them in the country.
However, when they arrived and transferred the money from their farm sale, an automatic alert alerted the bank of the large amount, which was immediately frozen.
Despite the setbacks, Arend insisted they remained in Russia, saying: “We are completely happy here, we have no intention of leaving here, we are not stuck here, we are not hostages.”
Arend featured in his follow-up video after his wife’s tirade, titled: ‘WE ARE SORRY AND WILL DO BETTER’
The homophobic family’s decision to flee to Russia comes two years after Vladimir Putin (pictured) passed one of the strongest anti-LGBT laws to date, effectively banning any public display of support for homosexuals.
Arend said in a YouTube video that they were told the money looked suspicious, and then they were left with almost nothing to live on because they couldn’t access their money.
The family’s move hit another snag as they tried to free up their money, as the lack of English speakers – and their inability to speak Russian – left them in dire straits.
Arend explained the difficulties in his apology video, saying: “As much as the banks are very frustrating for me in Canada, I know I can sit in a chair across from someone and explain.
“And that’s the frustrating thing.”
Amid their anger over the freezing of their funds, Anneesa reportedly took to their YouTube account to express her anger over their move to Russia.
“I’m ready to jump on a plane and get out of here. We have hit the first problem in this country where you have to use logic and it is very, very frustrating,” she said in the video that has reportedly been deleted.
Arend said that “there were requests to remove the video,” but he later claimed that Russian officials did not pressure him to remove the video and that they edited the clip themselves.
He also claimed that his family has no plans to leave Russia, and that they are in it for the “long haul.”
In his apology video, Arend made it clear that his wife was only frustrated by the situation in which their money was frozen, and he emphasized that the tirade was not aimed at Russia as a nation.
Arend justified his family’s decision, urging “large families, Christian farming families and conservative people” to follow them to Russia
As the Feenstra family’s decision to move to Russia attracted media attention, Arend said he was aware of the reporting but warned his followers that “the Western media is, for the most part, very biased and probably corrupt.” .
“There are a lot of lies and nonsense being spread about us in the West,” he continued.
“We are completely happy here, we have no intention of leaving here, we are not stuck here, we are not hostages.”
Arend urged others to follow his move to the former Soviet state, claiming officials are “making it easy” for Americans to move to Russia.
“Especially large families, Christian farm families, conservative people, and they want them here… there’s a lot of land and opportunity here,” he added.
The Feenstra’s have amassed more than 120,000 subscribers with their videos, but the reactions show that many have a bad image of their move to Russia
‘You went from a freedom index of 98/100 in Canada to 16/100 in Russia. Political rights get a whopping 5/40 and civil liberties 11/60. OMG good luck family,” said one.
Arend also claimed that his videos “prove” that Russia has a free press, prompting viewers to challenge him to say even one negative thing about Vladimir Putin or the conflict in Ukraine in any of his videos.
Despite the critics, Arend insists he has no regrets and is glad he left Canadian society.
“I just want to farm,” he concluded.
“I just want to farm and raise my kids in what I believe is a free country.”
Some also warned that the family may want to be more careful in its criticism of Russia in the future, following the arrest and detention of numerous people for filing complaints.