Proposed Spanish Colony in Russia's Far East

New Spain in Vladivostok: 25,000 km² and Cap of 1.25 Million

A plot of 25,000 square kilometers—slightly smaller than Galicia—adjacent to Vladivostok, with over 2,000 hours of sunshine annually compared to Bilbao’s 1,600, antiestéticaturing dry cold winters and humid summers. This is the terrain designated by a proposal circulating on social media for a hypothetical New Spain, a Spanish-speaking republic within Russia. The plan comes with a map, flag, anthem, and population quota. No government has confirmed any details.

What the New Spain Project Includes

The new republic would be located in Primorsky Krai, near Vladivostok, sharing borders with other entities inspired by Western Europe, placed on an inverted and rotated map: the British Isles south of Sakhalin, displaced Denmark, and Greece extended to Constantinople as the southern border of Spain and Portugal, with Italy acting as a corridor to France.

The figures are explicit. The maximum allowed density would be 100 inhabitants per square kilometer, setting a ceiling of 2.5 million residents. For original settlers, the target density is halved to 50 inhabitants per square kilometer, resulting in the most frequently cited limit: a maximum of 1.25 million Spaniards. The rest of the population would come from natural growth and Russian residents. The selling points are cheap housing, low taxes, and available space.

The Calculation of $20 Billion Annually

The economic chapter generates the most controversy. The proposal suggests that settlers could apply for loans or mortgages in their home countries, convert them into bitcoin or similar assets, and then reconvert them into rubles upon arrival in Russia. With 100,000 settlers per year and an average of $200,000 per person, the text estimates a transfer of $20 billion annually into Russian territory.

In financial terms, the described operation amounts, according to the narrative itself, to coordinated bank debt default: those who take out loans and move abroad with the money have no intention of repaying them. No entity has endorsed this mechanism, and there are no details regarding collateral, interest rates, or borrower solvency. However, Russia’s interest in the outcome is clear: populating a nearly empty Far East and gaining leverage in future negotiations.

Why Choose a Climate Colder Than Spain’s?

The area’s climate is humid continental with monsoon influence: dry cold winters, long springs with large temperature swings, mild summers, and dry autumns. The cold is defended as a filter, arguing that an uncomfortable destination limits arrivals from those not committed to the project.

The most common objection points to the same issue from another angle: at minus 20 degrees Celsius, with no possible gardening and wood as heating, the zone has remained without stable settlement for centuries. “If that area has been practically uninhabited throughout history, it is not by chance,” summarizes one response. Alternatives with milder climates, such as Argentina and Patagonia, are offered, though others warn that a prosperous hub would attract migration flows not contemplated in the plan.

Hyperborea, Anthem, and Monarchy Doubts

The symbolic wrapper is also detailed. The group of republics is named Hyperborea, the northern region that Herodotus, Pindar, and Pliny located in unknown lands and described as a place of long lives and complete happiness. A composition by Spanish musician Óscar Navarro is proposed as the anthem. The form of state remains open: questions arise whether it would be a republic or a parliamentary monarchy with Princess Leonor as head of state. Facing the Russian East, another current demands a different destination, Odesa, for historical reasons.

Enthusiasm, Rejection, and a Third Way

Reactions cover almost the entire spectrum. Some say they would go, while others offer to pay travel costs for skeptics. Some celebrate it as a way for those rejecting the Spanish political framework to leave permanently, including revocation of nationality and passport as a requirement. At the other extreme, the plan is deemed unfeasible and a psychological problem of those proposing it seriously.

Between both extremes, a current reads it geopolitically: the European population belt would serve as a firewall in a sparsely populated area—described by critics as a Russian “human shield”—within the model of self-governing regions already existing in the Russian Federation. A fourth position rejects the entire framework: arguing that one should not accept the Russian game but rather claim territory towards the west. Practical aspects are also discussed, such as the jobs generated by suddenly colonizing an uninhabited territory, especially in services and, if arable land exists, agriculture.

The only point of the plan that admits no discussion is the site: 2,000 hours of sunshine annually, 400 more than Bilbao. The $20 billion annual transfers, the cap of 1.25 million, and the border drawn on an inverted map rest on a negotiation that the text itself places in “Russian intelligence circles” and from which not a single document has emerged.