$OH[DQGHU6DOHQNR 2) 3) 4) 5) prior to 1 July 2002 and do not have residence permits, shall be estimated, as the date of their registration at the place of residence; Their compliance with the Constitution and legislation of the Russian Federation; That they posses a legal source of income; That they have filed applications to the competent body of the foreign state by which they renounce their previous citizenship. No renunciation of foreign citizenship is required if this is allowed by an international treaty of the Russian Federation or the present Federal Law or if the renunciation of another citizenship is impossible due to reasons beyond the person's control; That they have command or understanding of the Russian language. For special categories of people, the general order of admission (naturalisation) provides for a reduction of the duration of permanent residence on the territory of the Russian Federation to one year if the applicant belongs to one of the following categories: 1. The person has high achievements in the field of science, technology and culture; the person has a profession or qualification of interest for the Russian Federation; 2. The person has been granted asylum in the territory of the Russian Federation; 3. The person has been recognised as a refugee. Also in the framework of the general order of admission (naturalisation), the Russian legislator created the generous provision that a person with special merit to the Russian Federation may be admitted to Russian Federation citizenship without fulfillment of any of the conditions listed above. Discretion over this decision is given to the President of the Russian Federation. Moreover, the 2002 Citizenship Law provides that citizens of the former Soviet states who serve at least three years in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation and in other forces, military units or bodies on a contractual basis, are entitled to apply for citizenship of the Russian Federation without fulfillment of the rule regarding the continuous lawful residence on the territory of Russia for five years (i.e. the application will be considered without the need to present a residence permit). 4.2.2 Simplified procedure of admission (naturalisation) into Russian citizenship The simplified procedure of admission into Russian citizenship is regulated by Article 14 of the 2002 Citizenship Law. Basically, the general procedure of the admission into the Russian citizenship (art.13) consists of rules which significantly simplify the naturalisation procedure (i.e. reduce the duration of residence required). Similar regulations were set forth in art.14 of the 2002 Citizenship Law but in very special cases the applicant for Russian citizenship can also be freed from compliance with other provisions (i.e. confirmation of a legal source of income, knowledge of the Russian language, etc.). Thus, Russian citizenship can be acquired by the following groups of applicants without fulfillment of conditions regarding the minimum duration of lawful residence in Russia (i.e. without obligation to prove five years of permanent residence in Russia): 1. Foreign citizens and stateless persons who have reached the age of 18 and who have dispositive capacity and who are entitled to naturalisation by application for Russian citizenship if these applicants: a) have at least one parent who is a Russian citizen and resides on Russian territory; b) have had USSR citizenship, and having resided and residing in the former republics of the USSR, have not become citizens of these new states and as a result remain stateless persons;  56&$6(8'2&,7&5‹$XWKRU