Member of the State Duma (Russia’s lower chamber of parliament) also leader of A Just Russia – For Truth Party, Sergey Mironov, has called on the Russian authorities to temporarily suspend giving on citizenship to Tajiks.
In a statement posted on the party’s official website on April 7, Mironov, particular, notes, “More than half of recipients of Russian passports are from Donbass. Everything is clear, there are no questions. Another figure is shocking: 14 percent, or 103,000 “new Russian” have come from Tajikistan. I have great respect for the people of this country, but let’s be clear: the vast majority of visitors from Tajikistan do not know well – if they know at all – our language, culture, traditions. They do not have high or even middle qualification. For them, getting our citizenship is a direct benefit. And what is the benefit for Russia?”
Mironov notes that statistics of muss “russification” of residents of Tajikistan makes it possible to assess the extent of corruption in the Interior Ministry’s migration subdivisions.
He proposes to introduce “a temporary moratorium on granting Russian citizenship to residents of Tajikistan – for example until the end of 2023.”
“During this time, it is worth dealing with previous cases of issuing Russian passports to visitors from this country. If citizenship is obtained with violations, it will be annulled. And, of course, it is necessary to imprison officials profiting from this mess,” Mironov concludes.
According to data from the Russian Interior Ministry, 735,400 foreign nationals obtained Russian citizenship last year. The top five countries whose nationals obtained Russia citizenship last year are Ukraine – 375,989 people, Tajikistan — 103,681, Kazakhstan – 49,862, Armenia – 46,931, and Uzbekistan – 31,867.
The State Duma (Russia’s lower house of parliament) on April 5 approved the presidential bill on citizenship in the first reading. The initiative grants broad powers to the head of state in matters of citizenship, introduces the institution of the termination of citizenship and simplifies its acquisition for 20 categories.
Russian citizenship, according to the document, can be granted to people who speak Russian, know the history of the Russian Federation and the fundamentals of national legislation, undertake to abide by the Constitution and do not pose a threat to security and public order.
At the same time, the bill provides for a reduction in the number of requirements for more than 20 categories of people when they are admitted to citizenship of the Russian Federation. It concerns, in particular: citizens of the former USSR and their children; participants of the state program of voluntary resettlement of compatriots, people whose close relatives live in Russia and are its citizens; those whose relatives in the direct ascending line permanently resided in the territory of the Russian Empire or the USSR (within the state borders of modern Russia); who was born on the territory of the Russian Federation (territory of the RSFSR) before February 6, 1992.
It is clarified that the fact that these persons have foreign citizenship is not a basis for denying them recognition as citizens of the Russian Federation.
In addition, the powers of the President of the Russian Federation to determine the categories of persons who are entitled to a simplified acquisition of citizenship are being expanded. The head of state may determine the categories of such persons “not only for humanitarian purposes, but also for any other purpose.”
The document also introduces the institution of termination of Russian citizenship. It is assumed that for crimes in the sphere of trafficking in narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances and some serious crimes against the state, it will be possible to lose the passport of the Russian Federation. Citizenship can also be canceled if false documents were provided when applying.
