time. However, the new Order No. 183 contains a minimum list of documents for
filing an application for Russian citizenship and does not contain requirements for
applicants to obtain temporary or permanent residence. This means that the situation
for residents of the self-proclaimed DPR and LPR actually corresponds to Article 41.3
of Chapter VIII.I (“Conditions for Becoming a Citizen of the Russian Federation”),
which unambiguously and clearly adds the wording “without presenting temporary
or permanent residence permits” to the “simplified procedure.”
The presidential orders have been unequivocally received by Ukrainian
authorities as a new encroachment on Ukraine’s sovereignty and as “passport
aggression.”40 The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has found Russian passports
issued to residents of the self-proclaimed DPR and LPR invalid and called on other
countries to boycott “fake passports.”41
Amendments to citizenship laws have also caused dissatisfaction in Russia: a
number of critical publications have pointed to the populistic and ideological nature of
these measures that give preference to residents of the self-proclaimed DPR and LPR,
while former Soviet citizens who have lived in Russia for decades fight against the state
system and cannot obtain Russian citizenship, even though they have the full right to it.42
40 “Statement of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine in Connection with the Latest
Illegal Decision of the Russian Federation Aimed at Simplifying the Procedure for Obtaining
Russian Citizenship for Certain Categories of Ukrainian Citizens,” May 1, 2019. Website of
the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, https://mfa.gov.ua/ua/press-center/news/72215zajava-mzs-ukrajini-u-zvjazku-z-chergovim-protipravnim-rishennyam-rosijsykoji-federacijispryamovanim-na-sproshhennya-proceduri-nabuttya-rosijsykogo-gromadyanstva-dlyaokremih-kategorij-gromadyan-ukrajini
41 Україна не визнаватиме фейкових російських паспортів, що видаватимуть
жителям окупованих територій, – Володимир Гройсман. Unified portal of Executive
Branch Agencies of Ukraine, May 8, 2019, https://www.kmu.gov.ua/ua/news/ukrayinana-viznavatime-fejkovih-rosijskih-pasportiv-shcho-vidavatimut-zhitelyam-okupovanih-teritorijvolodimir-grojsman
42 “The Russian World, Export Edition,” May 4, 2019, https://www.novayagazeta.
ru/articles/2019/05/04/80422-russkiy-mir-eksportnyy-variant
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