From: dima@maths.uwa.oz.au (Dima Pasechnik)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.soviet,talk.politics.soviet
Subject: Re: Citizenship laws in Russian Federation.
Date: 28 Sep 1992 11:30:31 GMT
Organization: The University of Westrn Australia
NNTP-Posting-Host: madvax.maths.uwa.oz.au

ryyti@jyu.fi (Jarmo Ryyti) writes:

[some irrelevant text deleted]

>I would be interested in the Citizenship Laws of Russian federation
I'd like to note first that it does not make any sence to try to compare
citizenship laws of Baltic states with this one of Russia. 
I'm not aware of any case ( I mean the last, say, 3 years, of cource)
where permanent residents of Russia were
expelled from citizenship. In former times ( don't consider Stalin
times, I hope evrebody knows what happened with laws etc.)  some people
(roughly 100)
were expelled from USSR citizenship 'for antisoviet agitation and
propaganda' or something like that. As well, emigrants to Israel/US 
were usually forsed in OVIR 
(the dept. of MInistry of Internal affairs responsible
for exit visas, etc.) to give up their citizenship.

Forgive me for not quite fresh info.

>For instance:

>1. Does Russian Citizenship law allows dual citizenship?
It was a legalisation about such allowance for all russians living in
xUSSR (?). As well, spouces of foreign citizens may have it (?)

>2. How long time a citizen of a foreign country should stay
>in Russian Federation before he/she can apply citizenship?
I don't know, but in fact it seems nobody needs such law now. 

>3. Do a descendant of foreign citizens become autamatically 
>Russian citizen??
>-if the other parent is not a russian citizen how the citizenship
>is given then, does it follow mathriarchal line or pathriarchal
>line or is it demanded that both parents are russian citizens
No idea. Again, nobody really need such legalisation.

>4. Can illegal immigrant stay in Russia and apply for citizenship?
The same as 3.

>5. Can a foreigner OWN land in Russia?
It's better to ask may a russian citizen own land in Russia? Last spring
it was not clear. 

>6. Can a non-russian speaker demand  that the authorities serve her/him
>in her/his own language?
It seems that in case of police investigation against him/her he/she may
demand it (formally). Probably there are some restrictions on the
variety of languages supported. 
  
>7. Which are/which is the official language of Russian Federation?
Russian in the territories other than autonomic areas (they have two or
more official languages, including russian).

>-for instance which language is used in the army
Russian. I cannot imagine MODERN multiligual army, btw. Though there
were such armies, even in Russain empire.

Another reason is pro-russain policy of enrollment into officer
schools in soviet army. (Or maybe it was a kind of tradition, that
mainly people of slavic origin were interested in army careers). And linguistic barrer for non-russain speakers.
Anyway, it resulted to the fact that 90% army officers were from slavic
origin.

>-are there army units for the non-russian speakers
No. It should be a dream of people like D.Dudaev, I suppose.
 
>-are the laws translated into the minority languages and in which scale
Again, they are in autonomic areas.

>-in which scale there is for the non-russian speakers  existing
>education and other services and institututions in theory and praxis-
>along the laws and in practise given economical means...
There is education in languages of autonomic areas. Another question is
its quality. As well, university-level education is mainly in Russian.
I was told about some schools in non-russian language in the places of
'compact living' of certain national minorities, like Germans.

>8. Why the russian passports name the ethnic orgin of the passport holder?
This is 'nice' soviet tradition (as well as passports themselves, btw). 
Commies in a stupid manner sometimes
tried to help small nationalities, like make special quotas for
enrollment of  nationals in higher schools, etc. But mainly it was used
for discrimination. I suppose that, however, the initial 
intension was just to change the paragraph 'religion' to something
atheistic. Probably more  correct answer may be found in Lenin's works
or somewhere about. 

>These are some aspects of citizenship matters. Some netters at least of
>Russian origin should give information about those things.

>Regards,
>Jarmo Ryyti

Dima Pasechnik