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Perhaps you weren't alive or old enough to pay attention back when Russia ballet dancers/athletes/et. al. would come to the U. S. for the Russian Nutcracker Bal
by mikestew 6y ago
Perhaps you weren't alive or old enough to pay attention back when Russia ballet dancers/athletes/et. al. would come to the U. S. for the Russian Nutcracker Ballet tour, then ask for asylum. Or maybe your country-that-is-not-the-US didn't make a big deal of it, but it would be all over the news about how some ballet performer seeks asylum from The Evil Empire(tm). Of course the person would seek asylum in the U. S., The World's Choice for Freedom(R).
And now Russia has a chance to turn those tables on the U. S.? I'm kind of disappointed that it took them this long to execute the obvious play.
- elefanten 6y agoMaybe because they don't really have a story for why anyone would want to move there, other than running afoul of the same state security organizations that Russia is already opposed to. It's not exactly a huge draw for anyone who does NOT have those unusual security concerns.
- pharke 6y agoI don't think the intent was ever to attract more immigrants. It's simply prestige for your own values and a snub for the opposition.
- heavenlyblue 6y agoIt’s harder to only make a moral argument in the case of America which is generally richer than Russia. Why would anyone go to Russia apart from some moral consideration, given that Russian has nothing else to offer? I think that’s a pretty valid argument in certain circles.
- dkdk8283 6y agoRussia is super cheap for americans and there are many beautiful women. You can live for $500/mo. If you’re ok with the culture whatever nest egg you have can last a lot longer.
- coryfklein 6y agoWell the ballet dancers definitely weren't seeking shelter in the U.S. because they wanted to see Broadway and Yosemite.
- anonAndOn 6y agoFor reference: Baryshnikov was perhaps the most famous.[0] [0]https://www.cbc.ca/archives/entry/1974-mikhail-baryshnikov-defects-from-the-soviet-union https://www.cbc.ca/archives/entry/1974-mikhail-baryshnikov-d...
- rmrfstar 6y agoHas anyone on this thread seriously discussed leaving the US with their partner, based at least in part on the growth and aggressiveness of its domestic security services?
- manquer 6y agoDuring the peak of red scare, McCarthyism it quite likely there were people who left because such concerns, so it possible. Plenty of people from the tech world have had unpleasant experience with US security apparatus, leaving them hesitant take a job in the states. The maintainer of curl project comes to mind notably
- cafard 6y agoActually, E.F. Codd, who developed the concept of a relational database, moved out of the country. I believe this was less that he feared personal repercussions than that he found the whole business obnoxious.
- mikestew 6y agoWhat, and then become a victim of U. S. foreign policy?