10 On The Weekend is a weekly (-ish) feature in IMI, the concept of which is simple: Each time, we ask the same ten questions of a different IMI Pro, letting readers get to know the interviewee on a more personal and informal level than they might during the ordinary course of business.
Our guest this week is Ilja Belobragin, General Managing Partner of Movetorussia.com
How do you spend your weekends?
We are in rapid development at the moment, so weekends do not quite come into play as we work with our clients on a seven-days-a-week basis.
I believe this is how it should be. As the saying goes, “If you do what you love, you will not work a day in your life.” If I truly want to unwind, I like to go sailing out to sea, skiing, or mountaineering in the mountains.
One has to break from urban life and gain perspective—few things humble a man more than sailing the high seas or watching the sunrise over the mountain crest, just as they have done for millions of years.
What are your top three business goals this year?
There are not many months left in the current year, so allow me to discuss where we want to be 12 months from now, by next autumn of 2025.
Partnerships, Partnerships, Partnerships
We aim to broaden our partnership base worldwide to ensure that participants in the migration industry globally can offer their clients the opportunity to invest in Russia while we handle the practicalities on the ground.
Many of our partners today can’t risk openly displaying that offer, but if their clients inquire about such an opportunity, our partners can provide a positive response.
One of the major drivers of this interest is financial. Investors are seeking exposure to the Russian currency and the Russian market, both of which are undervalued compared to the dollar, which is overvalued relative to global currencies.
Many of our clients aim to benefit from the dollar’s trend of losing purchasing power as the pressure on the ruble and the Russian market subsides.
Go German, French, and Arabic
We plan to adapt the information we present to our German, French, and Arabic-speaking clients. There is considerable interest in our offer in Germany, France, and several Middle Eastern countries.
We would like to better serve these customers by engaging them in their native languages and tailoring the entire process to make them more comfortable.
Launch Our Podcast
We will launch a podcast to present interesting information and opportunities in Russia.
People frequently request that we provide a series discussing the opportunities in each region and covering different aspects of life in Russia, such as education, healthcare, public transport, the banking system, taxes, and more. We might as well take the initiative and provide this information directly.
We have yet to decide on the platform for the podcast launch, as it’s very likely the series will face a shadow ban on YouTube.
What’s your biggest business concern right now?
We are actively lobbying the government to remove the Russian Golden Visa program’s language, history, and law test requirements. We are confident that the government will implement this legislative change in the near future.
In the meantime, our clients are purchasing real estate in Russia to comply with the requirement of owning property for one full year before applying for the Russian Golden Visa.
Which book is on your nightstand right now?
Tragedy & Hope by Carroll Quigley offers an overview of world history from 1895 to 1950, essentially representing the liberal consensus view of the early 1960s.
US President Bill Clinton was an avid admirer and student of Professor Quigley, making it particularly interesting to read and understand the perspective that shaped US policies during the Clinton era.
We often engage in in-depth discussions with some of our clients from the UK and USA about “where the West went wrong,” while enjoying a couple of Old Fashion on a terrace in Moscow.
Sometimes, these discussions take us as far back as the Great Schism of 1054 and debate why Russia could be the cradle where traditional Western culture will survive and thrive while the West goes through a period of restructuring.
How and when did you first get into the investment migration industry?
I’ve been in the investment and advisory market since 2011, when I joined McKinsey & Co. However, I added the migration component recently when Russia introduced the Golden Visa opportunity at the end of 2022.
What was your proudest moment as a service provider?
I always enjoy seeing our clients’ reactions after their first week in Russia; they are amazed by the reality on the ground.
I may be biased, but Moscow is objectively the best megapolis to live in today from a quality of life, security, and safety perspective. Other Russian major cities are also rapidly developing to compete with Moscow and retain talent. This is what our clients experience when visiting Russia and seeing it with their own eyes.
We are breaking through decades of Western propaganda and revealing the country’s true opportunities—our team takes pride in this work every day.
Which investment migration market development has surprised you the most in the last year?
It has to be the new Russian Shared Values Visa, which the government launched on August 19, 2024.
We knew an initiative was in the works, but we expected it to receive the green light at the beginning of 2025, not as early as 2024. It does remove the large hurdle – the requirement to pass the language, history, and law test – which is very positive.
The early launch of the Russian Shared Values Visa is a positive development as it also puts additional pressure on the Russian legislative body to remove the language test requirement from the Golden Visa.
If you could go ten years back in time, what business decision would you change?
All the successes and failures that I have experienced have led me to this moment; I embrace both. As we drive progress forward and open up this vast new market for high net worth individuals—Russia for the world—there is limited time for regrets.
What investment migration industry personality do you most admire?
I always admire people who “break new ground.” Katie “the Russian” at Plan B is pursuing the crypto enthusiasts.
If all goes according to plan, what will you be doing five years from now?
Helping 20,000 applicants secure their Russian Golden Visa—this is the demand we anticipate will arise by 2030, and we aim to drive it.
We make the impossible comfortably possible, securing a new life for our clients and their families in the developing Eurasian market, which will encompass the majority of the world’s population and serve as the locomotive for growth over the next hundred years.
IMI program guide: Russia Golden Visa
