"Soft" passportization: Russia cancels fee for processing Russian documents in occupied Luhansk region
Kyiv • UNN
Russia continues to issue passports in the occupied territories of Ukraine, using administrative leverage. In Luhansk region, the fee for a Russian passport has been canceled for stateless persons and orphans.
Russia continues to issue passports in occupied Ukraine, using administrative levers and coercive tools. This is stated in the material of the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), reports UNN.
Details
It is noted that recently the "Ministry of Internal Affairs" of the so-called "LPR" announced the abolition of the fee for processing a Russian passport in the amount of 4200 rubles for "certain groups" living in the temporarily occupied Luhansk region. Thus, persons living in former USSR countries and who had Soviet citizenship, but are currently stateless persons, as they did not apply for Russian or Ukrainian citizenship after the collapse of the Soviet Union, can do so free of charge.
Children deprived of parental care and orphans can also apply for Russian citizenship without paying an administrative fee. The "LPR" will also abolish the fee for Ukrainian citizens living in the occupied territories and having a "temporary residence permit"
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They clarify that the application fee is "very small," but its abolition "is likely intended to lower barriers to obtaining Russian citizenship for two particularly vulnerable groups of the population" - elderly people who have not applied for new residence documents after the collapse of the Soviet Union, and young children who do not have parental consent or a legal guardian to care for them.
Russian occupation administrations have used similar administrative incentives to support passportization efforts in occupied Ukraine, typically linking benefits or some financial incentive to obtaining a Russian passport
They conclude that passportization is a continuation of Russia's long-term strategic goals to create "conditions for the integration of occupied Ukrainian territories into Russia" and eradicate Ukrainian identity, "both physically and administratively."
Recall
Russian occupation authorities are increasing pressure on residents of the occupied territories, demanding that SIM cards be re-registered using Russian documents to speed up the passportization process and strengthen control over communication networks.