Dual Citizenship in Russia

Abstract

In the USSR, the dual citizenship was expressly prohibited by the Soviet law. After Perestroika, a new stage of Russian statehood began: on 12 December 1993, the Constitution of the modern Russian Federation was adopted, which granted Russian citizens the right to have dual citizenship. Over the past twenty-five years, a new legislation has been adopted on the Russian citizenship, migration, and the state policy regarding compatriots living abroad. During these years, millions of Russian citizens have obtained second (multiple) citizenship, and with it came to questions, disputes and problems that required mediation of the Russian judiciary. In this regard, the main purpose of this article is to analyze the existing domestic legislation and international treaties of Russia on dual citizenship, to determine the dual citizenship regime in Russia - to examine the existing restrictions on the rights and freedom of persons with dual citizenship, and also to study the disputes on dual citizenship in the Russian Federation, in particular to scrutinize the judicial practice (leading cases) of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation. Based on an analysis performed in the article, the author draws conclusions regarding the further development of dual citizenship within the framework of the Union State of Belarus and Russia, and also investigates prospects of the Eurasian citizenship in the framework of the Eurasian Union. In addition, the author makes a proposal to Russian authorities to make information on registered Russian citizens with dual (multiple) citizenship more accessible and transparent, and also to adopt at the federal level a document on the Russian state policy regarding dual citizenship.