Chuck Darwin<p><a href="https://c.im/tags/Russian" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>Russian</span></a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/Faith" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>Faith</span></a>, the site <a href="https://c.im/tags/Bausman" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>Bausman</span></a> appointed <a href="https://c.im/tags/Gleason" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>Gleason</span></a> to edit in 2018, promotes a reactionary, pro-Kremlin worldview for an English-speaking audience. </p><p>Unlike <a href="https://c.im/tags/Russia" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>Russia</span></a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/Insider" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>Insider</span></a>, the website focuses on religion, portraying Christians, particularly Russian Orthodox Christians, as in conflict with the secular Western world. </p><p>Some prominent far-right figures within the United States have converted to Eastern Orthodox churches in recent years, including but not limited to <a href="https://c.im/tags/Russian" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>Russian</span></a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/Orthodoxy" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>Orthodoxy</span></a>, despite Orthodox Christians making up a mere 0.5% of the U.S. population, according to a 2014 Pew Research Center report.</p><p>As the editor of Russian Faith, Gleason has promoted such far-right groups as the <a href="https://c.im/tags/World" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>World</span></a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/Congress" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>Congress</span></a> of <a href="https://c.im/tags/Families" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>Families</span></a>, whose leaders have been instrumental in crafting some of Russia’s more draconian anti-LGBTQ+ laws. He published work from a range of prominent figures within the American far right, such as Andrew Torba, the founder of the extremist-friendly social media platform <a href="https://c.im/tags/Gab" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>Gab</span></a>.</p><p>Some Russian lawmakers have expressed skepticism regarding Gleason’s proposals, complaining at a February event about the need to deal with domestic issues prior to welcoming immigrants. There is no evidence to support his, or others’, claims that vast segments of the Western European or North American right are planning to relocate to Russia, even among those on the U.S. far right who portray that country as a safe haven for a litany of reactionary political and social beliefs.</p><p>Nevertheless, in May, an immigration lawyer who has collaborated with Gleason in his lobbying efforts announced that the Moscow regional administration approved a plan to construct a village for American and Canadian expatriates, beginning in 2024. That same month, Russia leveled travel bans against “those in government and law enforce agencies who are directly involved in the persecution of dissidents” following the Jan. 6, 2021, riot, according to a May 19 press release from Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.</p>