Ex-governor and businessmen from the Russian Federation received Kyrgyzstan passports

A number of Russian businessmen and other well-known persons received Kyrgyz citizenship after the Russian large-scale invasion of Ukraine. The Moscow Times writes about this with reference to the decree of the President of the Central Asian Republic, Sadyr Zhaparov, signed last year.

Representatives of Transparency International in Russia believe that there is an element of corruption when Russians receive a Kyrgyz passport – Radio Azattyk reports.

“Moscow residents rushed to get Kyrgyz passports. About fifty residents of the capital region and the same number of people from other parts of Russia appeared in the last presidential decree on admission to the citizenship of the republic,” notes The Moscow Times. The decree, which was analyzed by the publication, lists persons whose names, citizens, whose names, surnames, dates and places of birth completely coincide with the data of Russians, such as the former governor of the Tver region Dmitry Zeleninthe daughter of the plenipotentiary representative of the Russian government in the higher courts Mikhail Barshevsky ‒ Natalya Barshchevskayaas well as the co-founder of the crypto exchange Bitzlato Anton Shkurenko and the sons of a businessman, the owner of “Aromatny Mir” Valeria Zadorina ‒ Alexander and Mikhail.

Radio Azattyk drew attention to the post of a financier from Moscow Mikhail Zhuhovitsky, who now lives in Kyrgyzstan. On November 22, 2022, he wrote on his Facebook page that he helped his friends who “will now have a second passport.” A few days ago, he published a second post about the advantages of obtaining a Kyrgyzstan passport: “There is only one scenario. An intermediate passport of Central Asia. Then on top of it is an island passport, visa-free in the EU. Or Turkey – you still have a few months before the program closes. That’s it. No way “.

On Monday, the Telegram channel “Baza” drew attention to the fact that among the Russians who received a passport of Kyrgyzstan last year is Maria Drokova (Busher), a former commissar of the “Nashi” youth movement. Her last name is in the corresponding decree. She has been living in the USA for some time, where she founded a venture fund. In December 2022, The Washington Post reported that the FBI was interested in Drokova, suspecting that her fund may be connected to Russian billionaires who are subject to sanctions. She herself denied it.