permit gave Nadezhda the opportunity to apply for permanent residence in January 2019. This was her first official identity document issued by a government agency of Ukraine. By February 2019, Nadezhda had filed an application with the State Migration Service to acquire citizenship of Ukraine. In Russia, similar problems with establishing identity, confirming the fact of birth and/or residence on Russian territory, and proving the lawfulness of residence in the country mean that stateless persons cannot even become involved in the legalization procedure. In spite of numerous amendments, Russian citizenship laws still do not contain a logical and accessible procedure for legalizing stateless persons. The first Law on Citizenship51 was adopted on November 28, 1991 and envisaged a simplified procedure for acquiring citizenship of the RSFSR that was in effect until December 31, 2000. Under Part 1 of Clause 13 of this law, all former Soviet citizens possessing a permanent residence registration within the territory of the RSFSR were automatically granted Russian citizenship. Citizenship could also be acquired following the procedure of registration (that is, by filing a petition within one year after the law’s entry into force). This procedure was available to citizens of former Soviet republics and other countries with historical and family ties to Russia, as well as to stateless persons. In Russia, many people did not exchange their old Soviet passports for the same reasons as in Ukraine. Citizenship applications were not accepted without a residence registration, which many people could not execute for various reasons: some were in detention facilities and could not file the application, while others lived in remote regions and did not have access to information or know that they had to change their passports and acquire citizenship. In addition, the RF government resolution “On Approval of the Regulations on RF Passports, a Sample Form, and a Description of an RF Passport,” which was approved in 1997, envisaged a phased exchange of Soviet passports for Russian passports until July 1, 2004.52 For various reasons, many holders of Soviet documents put off exchanging them until the last minute, when the citizenship law had already been amended (2002). Without having even acquired any citizenship, these people became de facto illegal residents. 51 Law of the RSFSR No. 1948-I of November 28, 1991, https://base.garant. ru/3969841/ 52 Paragraph 2 of RF Government Resolution No. 828 “On Approval of the Regulations on RF Passports, a Sample Form, and a Description of an RF Passport,” of July 8, 1997, http://ivo.garant.ru/#/document/5423647/paragraph/17479:0 31