Westerners Fleeing to Russia to Be Resettled Near Arctic Circle: Putin Ally

A Russian commentator who has predicted the downfall of the West says its desperate citizens will one day try to flee into Russia―where they will be allowed to live 100 miles from the Arctic Circle.

Margarita Simonyan, an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin and editor-in-chief of state-controlled broadcaster RT, made the prediction on TV as she spoke to a panel of guests. On Monday, her comments began to go viral on Western social media after being shared online.

Simonyan's comments come amid heightened tensions between Russia and the West as Putin's war against Ukraine continues more than two years after he launched what he described as a "special military operation" in February 2022. Since then, a grim war of attrition has ensued, and the U.S. and other allies have provided weapons and financial aid to Ukraine. Russia has made some inroads in recent days but is suffering huge losses among its soldiers and significant destruction to its artillery.

A translated clip of Simonyan's incendiary comments was shared on X (formerly Twitter) by the Russian Media Monitor, an organization set up by journalist Julia Davis to track what she describes as Putin's propaganda.

More than 143,000 X users viewed the footage within hours, and hundreds shared it with their followers.

Davis captioned the clip: "Meanwhile in Russia: head of RT Margarita Simonyan predicted the future where desperate Westerners will come pouring into Russia and get situated on the frozen Solovetsky Islands 100 miles from the Arctic Circle."

The footage, which was labeled "Russian disinfo [disinformation]" by Russian Media Monitor, begins with Simonyan describing how Rome was a mighty empire until "there was nothing left" and is now just a place "where tourists leave their trash." She then gave the other participants a meaningful look and asked, "Doesn't it remind you anything?"

Simonyan went on to discuss the depravities and "satanism" of the West, giving as an example the surgeries that transgender people receive. People who don't consider themselves human beings can also "legally transition into a baby elephant" if they want, she added.

She went on: "I am certain that we will become the country where the normal people who are left in those countries will come pouring in, having had with it their new religion. They will come to us. They will consider us to be the heaven of providence. They will live someplace like the Solovetsky Islands. Why not? With global warming it will get warm there. It will be hot everywhere else, but there it will be warm!"

The Solovetsky Islands are an archipelago in Russia's White Sea and the location of an infamous gulag, the Solovki prison camp, until the late 1930s. A census in 2010 said just 861 inhabitants called the region home.

None of the other panelists showed much emotion as Simonyan spoke, but when she finished speaking, the host said to her: "Bravo!"

Newsweek contacted RT by email seeking clarification from Simonyan about her claims. In an email, her representative told this story's writer that Simonyan said: "Dear Chloe, are you already exploring your options? Then no need to wait till the West falls, come on over right now!"

Newsweek has also reached out to the White House by email seeking comment on Simonyan's views that the West is set to collapse.

This is not the first time that she has made headlines with her controversial remarks.

Last October, she previously appeared to suggest that deployment of nuclear weapons may be necessary after becoming enraged when a drone fell near her childhood home.

Update 5/6/24, 3:50 p.m. ET: This story was updated to include an emailed reply from RT on behalf of Margarita Simonyan.