For right-wing Westerners looking to escape what they deem society's moral decline, Moscow has opened up a way: since last year, Russia has offered a Shared Values Visa, aimed at foreigners who reject what Vladimir Putin calls "destructive neoliberal ideology".

Who can get a Shared Values Visa?
Citizens or residents of countries Moscow considers "opposed to Russia" – 47 in total, including most European countries, the US, Australia and Japan – can apply for what is informally known as the "anti-woke visa".

There are no language requirements but applicants must demonstrate that they disagree with the policies of their country that contradict "traditional" values. The visa is usually issued for three years, and can be converted into citizenship.

Are people actually emigrating?
A spokesperson for the Russian Ministry of the Interior said 1,156 people, including 224 from Germany, had applied for the Shared Values Visa by May. About 700 people have obtained this visa so far this year, said The Washington Post.

Among them is Derek Huffman, who moved his family from Texas to Russia earlier this year to "escape 'woke' America", said The Telegraph. The 46-year-old agreed to join the Russian military "in a non-combat capacity" but, despite no experience as a soldier and "limited" Russian, he has, according to his wife, been sent "near" the front line in Ukraine.

What does Russia get out of it?
This is "symbolic politics", Katharina Bluhm, head of the Institute for East European Studies at the Freie Universität Berlin, told DW. Russia uses the positive stories of Western immigrants to show its citizens: we "fulfil what they miss in the decadent West". And the message to the West is: "We represent the better Europe, the Europe of patriotism and traditional values and gender roles that no longer exists elsewhere".

But the true explanation for the visa is "a ruthless economic logic", said UnHerd. Russia's demographics are "terrible": its fertility rate is far lower than the replacement rate, and the war on Ukraine has led to high casualties and emigration, leaving the country in need of skilled migrants. For Russia, this is "strictly business".

When you're on holiday, reading shouldn't feel like a slog. To really relax, "ditch boring" and "prioritise pleasure", said Daisy Buchanan in The Guardian. Here are some of the best beach reads to help you unwind.

Bryant & May: Oranges and Lemons
Christopher Fowler's books about two "Golden Age detectives in a modern world" who head up the Peculiar Crimes specialist police division are "beautifully written whodunnits", said Camilla Tominey in The Telegraph. The novels have all the elements of a "great holiday page-turner", from "plot twists" to "compelling dialogue" and, crucially, "a sense of humour".

The Island of Missing Trees
Elif Shafak's "vivid" love story follows the "clandestine relationship" between Kostas, a Greek Cypriot, and Defne, a Turkish Cypriot, said Rebecca Astill in The Telegraph. Shafak is excellent at sketching Cyprus' "sun-drenched tavernas" in illuminating detail and she "never shies away from the pain of the civil war". This is the perfect summer read if you're after a "page-turner that still has a bit of grit".

One Yellow Eye
Leigh Radford's novel tackles the "unusual" question: "what would you do if the love of your life became a zombie?", said Siobhan Murphy in The Times. Radford paints an "affecting portrait" of biomedical scientist Kesta as she searches for a cure to save her husband, Tim, who is "sedated and tied to the bed in their flat". Wonderfully tense and full of "pitch black" laughs, it's a propulsive read.

With her Tory reshuffle, what is Kemi Badenoch really up to?
John Rentoul in The Independent
By "installing" James Cleverly as Angela Rayner's "shadow", Kemi Badenoch "hints that he is her deputy without actually giving him that title", writes John Rentoul. She needs to keep the Tories "anchored to the centre ground", not zigzagging off towards "imitating Nigel Farage". Giving a "higher-status job" to Robert Jenrick would "only give him a better platform from which to launch" his own leadership bid; this reshuffle "locks Cleverly into her defence".

Our phones can alert us to earthquakes – but there's a catch
Anjana Ahuja in the Financial Times
A research paper says that the "inbuilt accelerometers" can turn smartphones into "crowdsourced earthquake detection systems", writes Anjana Ahuja. When they are "shaking en masse", phones "become a useful tool", especially "in populated areas which lack conventional warning systems". Tech companies can offer a "measure of crisis protection that many governments cannot"– but "what happens" when "information that makes a difference lies in private hands"?

It is right to question psychiatry
Victoria Smith in The Critic
The trouble with criticising mental health practices is that there's always someone who says "the system is working perfectly well for them", writes Victoria Smith. To those people, if you speak as a patient, "your criticism betrays your lack of insight", and "if you speak as an outsider, then you are naïve". But it's "not naïve" to call out "coercive practices" and "callousness or cruelty" in psychiatric care.