A conservative Texas family moved to Russia to escape “woke” culture and get their children away from queer people, but they’re now regretting their choice after the father was sent to the front line of the war with Ukraine.
In a YouTube video titled, “Why we moved to Russia,” wife DeAnna Huffman admitted that the family packed up their lives and moved to a conservative foreign country because they wanted to “be away from the things that we feel are disrupting our children’s lives” while showing pictures of drag queens, Pride parades, headlines about children’s TV shows with queer characters, and LGBTQ+ kid’s books.
But according to The Telegraph, the family’s attempt to escape “woke” America, has landed father Derek Huffman in the Russian military.
The 46-year-old father of three daughters moved his family to Istra, 25 miles outside of Moscow, through Russia’s “shared values” visa program that is meant to attract foreigners who “embrace Russian values” and want to escape “the harmful effects of Western neoliberal policies.”
Once in Russia, Derek Huffman agreed to join the military as a non-combatant but was quickly sent “near” the front line in Ukraine, despite having no experience as a soldier, his wife said in one of their videos.
“Unfortunately, he feels like he’s being thrown to the wolves right now, and he’s kind of having to lean on faith, and that’s what we’re all doing,” DeAnna Huffman admitted in one of her vlogs for the family’s YouTube channel “Huffman Time.”
Although Derek Huffman posted a short video telling his family he missed them while wearing army fatigues on Father’s Day, there have been no new messages from him since then. ButThe Telegraph reports that on July 20, there was a link posted on their channel to a Telegram group requesting help from the U.S. government, though the message was subsequently deleted, and it is unclear who created it.
"We are asking the United States government to save this family,” read the single message in the group, along with a photo of DeAnna Huffman and her daughters crying.
While running away to Russia because of your anti-LGBTQ+ views seems like an extreme choice, the Huffmans are not the first Christian family to do so. Last year, Arend and Anneesa Feenstra packed up their 10 children and headed to Russia to escape “left-wing ideology,” and the “trans” and “LGBTQ+” community in Canada, whom they didn’t want near their children.
The Huffmans left the United States for very similar reasons, telling Russia Today that they were sick of the public education system’s acceptance of LGBTQ+ people.
“The final straw was when we found out my daughter Sophia learnt about lesbians from a girl in her class. She didn’t fully understand it, but for us, that was enough to realize something had to change,” Derek Huffman said.
In a video update while he was in military training, DeAnna Huffman admitted to struggling without her husband and talked openly about Derek losing weight because of the military food and training three times per day.
“I tell you, I’ve been pushed beyond my limits, further than any time in my whole life. The Russian army is no joke,” Derek Huffman said.
This is a change of tune from an earlier video where he talked about risking his life to “earn a place here in Russia.”
“The point of this act for me is to earn a place here in Russia. If I risk myself for our new country, no one will say that I am not a part of it. Unlike migrants in America who come there just like that, do not assimilate, and at the same time want free handouts,” said Derek, who according to his wife has a limited grasp on the Russian language.