> simply being willing to defend the Jewish state is grounds for being considered a member
I am not saying it is sufficient, I am saying it can be a factor. One issue for giyur is sincerity of the convert. Similarly to Shlomo’s times, one might say that if emigration from Russia to Israel would be conditioned on a conversion, we could suspect insincerity despite all other factors. I understand it is not a condition, as people immigrate together with their Jewish relatives. Still, a conversion would make life easier as you are saying – marriage, work, etc and makes a convert suspect. I thought the reference was to military giyurim and I counted this as a possible indication of sincere attachment to Am and Eretz Israel – presuming the person is not serving in combat role, and not in the office.
Such factors play role some times. I read that early Soviet dissidents were often married to non Jews. Someone did giyur to some of them while their husbands were in prison based mostly on their devotion and risk. These were more dramatic circumstances, of course.
More generally, quoting my F-I-L, in mixed marriages, it is a Jewish side that is doing the aveirah, while the non-Jewish one is a tzadik(es) – getting disapprovals from her society for marrying a Jew. In the case of anti-semitic Russian society, it is even more true.