American farmer who built a life in Russia says he and his family are facing deportation

Meduza reports that Justus Walker, an American farmer known as the Merry Milkman, is facing expulsion from Russia after authorities informed him they plan to revoke his residence permit. Walker, who has spent decades farming in Russia's Altai Krai, says he and his family have invested nearly all their savings in the farm but lack sufficient funds to relocate—he needs nine hundred thousand rubles but has only four hundred thousand. The longtime dairy farmer gained recognition in Russia in twenty fourteen after joking on state television about selling his cheese during a national import ban. Walker, who first arrived in Russia as an eleven-year-old, is seeking to appeal the expulsion decision, but says his family has only days to leave if the order stands.

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