To strengthen Russia’s military, Putin is easing the path to citizenship for foreign fighters
President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia has approved a measure making it easier for foreigners to acquire Russian citizenship if they join the military during the war in Ukraine, as part of an effort to swell the military’s ranks and at the same time prevent Russians from being deployed in the army. the battlefield.
According to the decree, that the Kremlin published On Thursday, foreigners who sign a one-year contract with the Russian military or volunteer for “army formations” during what Moscow calls its “special military operation” in Ukraine can apply for Russian citizenship through an accelerated procedure. The benefits also extend to the recruits’ spouses, children and parents.
Unlike those who go through the regular Russian citizenship process, such foreigners are not required to live in the country for five consecutive years with a residence permit before applying. They would also be spared the need to speak Russian and be familiar with the country’s history and basic laws.
According to the decision, a decision on such applications will take only one month instead of the usual three.
The Kremlin has used similar enticements twice during the war in Ukraine. Mr. Putin first accelerated the citizenship process for foreigners who joined the fighting in September 2022, a time when Russian forces suffered painful defeats in the Kharkiv region. The Kremlin then further streamlined the process in May last year, removing the requirement that foreigners participate in armed combat for at least six months before applying for citizenship.
Since Putin ordered a conscription of as many as 300,000 reservists in September 2022 – a deeply unpopular move that marked the country’s first general mobilization since World War II – speculation has persisted that the military would need a new wave to to replenish its ranks. But the Kremlin has emphasized that there are enough volunteers and no blanket design is needed.
Last month, said Mr Putin that by 2023, 486,000 new recruits had joined the military and 1,500 were signing contracts per day. Him too ordered an extension of the army’s ranks by 170,000 to 1.32 million – the second increase since the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
A new round of mobilization would be deeply unpopular among the Russian public. opinion polls suggested, so the Kremlin has gone to great lengths to prevent this. Russian cities are plastered with posters promising high payments and higher status to recruits. And in the country’s prisons, prisoners — including those convicted of murder — have been offered pardons in exchange for fighting in Ukraine.
Last year, more than three million migrant workers arrived came to Russia from the poorer Central Asian countries of Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. They typically work in basic services and construction, and many aspire to Russian citizenship.
There have been law enforcement officers in recent months pursuing foreigners with Russian passports in the country and tracks them down in mosques and warehouses where many of them work. According to Novaya Gazeta, a Russian newspaper, more than 3,000 migrants were detained in St. Petersburg on New Year’s Eve. And some migrants have reported being forced to sign contracts with the military. according to Astraa Russian news channel.
In addition to viewing migrants as potential recruits for the war, Russia is also relying on them as its economy experiences acute labor shortages, the general population is aging, and many factories strive to accelerate weapons production.
On Thursday, in addition to signing the decree against army recruits, Putin approved an accelerated Russian citizenship process for citizens of Ukraine who lived in Crimea before Russia’s illegal annexation of the peninsula in 2014. That decree also covers citizens of Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and Yemen who were born on Soviet territory and held Soviet citizenship.