SF members propose to leave the citizenship received at birth

Members of the Federation Council from the annexed Crimea and Sevastopol, as well as the so-called “LNR” submitted to the State Duma a draft law that proposes to introduce the possibility of revocation of Russian citizenship received at birth for desertion, the so-called discrediting of the army and calls for extremism.

The document is published in the State Duma database. The constitutional ban on revocation of citizenship by Russians who received it at birth, the authors propose to bypass, called revocation of citizenship not revocation, but “termination”.

In the explanatory note, Sergey Tsekov (Crimea), Ekaterina Altabaeva (Sevastopol), Olga Bas (“LNR”) and Sergey Kolbin (Sevastopol) point out that in April, amendments were adopted that allow Russians to lose their acquired citizenship for certain crimes, which include actions related to the manifestation of an active anti-war position. The authors, who themselves have acquired citizenship (they represent the Ukrainian territories annexed by Russia in the Federation Council), argue that in order to ensure the equality of citizens, these norms must be extended to those who have citizenship by birth.

The Kremlin has not yet expressed its position in relation to the bill. The influential head of the Committee on Constitutional Legislation of the Federation Council, Andrey Klyshas, ​​sharply criticized the document. “If a federal politician, including a senator of the Russian Federation, introduces a law that contradicts the Constitution, the Basics of the Constitutional System, then this is a serious reason for such a politician to think about whether he can hold his position,” he wrote in a telegram.

• In April 2023, President Vladimir Putin signed a law on revoking acquired citizenship for so-called fakes about the army and its “discrediting”. According to the new law, it will be possible to lose Russian citizenship not only for committing terrorist and extremist crimes, but also on the basis of the conclusion of the FSB that the actions of a citizen “create a threat to the national security” of Russia. It will be possible to appeal this decision within 10 days after the deprivation of citizenship. Those found guilty of evasion of military and alternative civil service, desertion, and participation in the activities of an “undesirable organization” may also lose their Russian passport.