澳门六合彩

BY ALICE E. M. UNDERWOOD

Citizenship has become the latest instrument in the Kremlin鈥檚 arsenal of tools for expanding Russian influence in its neighborhood. A presidential decree on April 24 established a simplified process for residents of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts to obtain a Russian passport and Russian citizenship rights, and on April 27 President Putin that the process might be extended to all Ukrainians.

In response, Ukrainian president-elect Volodymyr Zelensky has declared his intent to offer Ukrainian citizenship to Russians, thus punting the citizenship ball back across the pitch to Putin. That Putin鈥檚 decree instrumentalizes citizenship as a political and symbolic tool tied to Russian influence and interference in Ukraine is alarming enough; that citizenship has become a plaything in the leaders鈥� diplomatic volley raises concerns about international legal standards of citizenship more broadly.

Russian Citizenship for Ukrainian Citizens

The legal path to the decree was by a March amendment to the 2002 Law on Citizenship of the Russian Federation. The amendment gives the president powers to grant preferential consideration for citizenship to people from states experiencing armed conflict, regime change, or political and economic instability, as well as to compatriots living abroad. The application of the amendment to eastern Ukrainians鈥攚ith the accompanying stipulation that applicants need not renounce Ukrainian citizenship, and with a three-month turnaround time estimated鈥攚as justified based on these categories.

President Putin the decision was of a 鈥減urely humanitarian nature,鈥� claiming that 鈥減eople living in the territory of the Donetsk and Luhansk republics are completely deprived of any civil rights.鈥� By framing the problem as Kyiv鈥檚 failure to care for its citizens while also negating Kyiv鈥檚 jurisdiction by characterizing the breakaway territories as republics, Putin positioned Russia as morally superior in helping the poor souls of the Donbas. The emphasis on rights, in light of the Russian government鈥檚 generally acknowledged tendency to ignore or violate political and especially civil rights, is a further irony.

Though the signing of the decree within days of Zelensky鈥檚 presidential victory is no coincidence, the project had been in the works for some time. A new Ministry of Internal Affairs office was in Rostov-on-Don in March in anticipation of eastern Ukrainians making the quick trip there to apply for Russian passports. The move has been interpreted as a step toward official recognition of the breakaway regions, whose separatist leaders have expressed their desire for with Russia. The Donbas鈥檚 population of 3.7 million would make their division from Ukraine considerable. Putin鈥檚 subsequent that "Ukrainians and Russians are brotherly nations鈥� and 鈥渆ssentially one people鈥� struck an eerie chord with many observers.

The Symbolic Expansion of Russian Influence

The brotherhood of the two nations, however, is not a new concept. Symbolically, the new decree reflects the Russian government鈥檚 attitude toward Ukraine as a 鈥渓ittle brother鈥� and therefore essentially the rightful territory of Russia, as was most obviously demonstrated by the 2014 annexation of Crimea and the subsequent involvement of 鈥渓ittle green men鈥� in eastern Ukraine.

In this, the concept of the Russian World rears its head. The framework emphasizes linguistic and cultural unity across the Russian-speaking space and has been used to justify international intervention on behalf of ethnic Russians鈥攕uch as in Crimea, or Ukraine as a whole, territories that are seen as belonging within Russia鈥檚 sphere of influence. Ostensibly a policy to defend Russian-speaking Ukrainians, the concept of the Russian World is in fact a means to apply political pressure. Relatedly, many Russians鈥� perception of the conflict in Ukraine has been by references in both official and social media to pro-Maidan Ukrainians as fascists, Banderites, and other names that evoke historical fears and animosity stemming from World War II鈥攐r the Great Patriotic War, as it is better known in Russia, where the emphasis on the Soviet victory overshadows other interpretations of the time period.

This trend feeds into the symbolism surrounding the current decree. Presidential aide Vladislav Surkov , 鈥淚t is Russia's duty to people speaking and thinking in Russian, who are now in a very difficult situation because of the repressive actions of the Kyiv regime.鈥� If Ukrainians are painted as oppressive fascists, the Russian incursion looks like an offer of aid rather than an infringement on territorial integrity.

Extending Russian citizenship beyond Russia鈥檚 borders also has demographic implications within Russia, in light of the country鈥檚 declining population. Attempts to remedy the demographic crisis have included health campaigns, patriotic education, an emphasis on traditional values (and, by extension, larger families), and policies discouraging emigration (the ineptly named being one example). In the drive to attract 鈥渄esirable鈥� immigrants, a policy on resettlement from neighboring states was in March with the aim of bringing 5鈥�10 million Russian speakers from Ukraine, Moldova, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan鈥攊n other words, from the sphere of the Russian World.

Subverting Sovereignty and Legal Relativism

With this decree, Putin is utilizing citizenship as leverage against Ukraine's new politicians, making little attempt to hide the threat to Ukrainian sovereignty. Offering citizenship to residents of the Donbas region, with the possibility of extending the offer to the entire population of Ukraine, would create an unknown number of Russian passport holders on Ukraine's territory鈥攁 number that Russian authorities could easily manipulate. This poses a new puzzle for Ukrainian authorities, as Ukraine鈥檚 legislation does not recognize dual citizenship, but lacks a mechanism to prevent Ukrainians from getting a second passport. This has led to improvised punitive measures in the past, such as聽last year's聽 of a Hungarian consul who was issuing Hungarian passports to Hungarian-speaking Ukrainians.

The move thus poses a thinly veiled threat to Zelensky鈥檚 incoming administration not to get on Russia鈥檚 bad side. While Ukrainian politicians currently in power have decried the decree鈥攖he Ministry of Foreign Affairs it as the 鈥減assport stage鈥� of occupation and sitting Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko it an attempt to legitimize Russia's military presence鈥攖he true test is for the incoming president. During his campaign, Zelensky he would not grant special status to Donetsk and Luhansk and called for deploying UN peacekeepers in the regions. Shortly after the decree, he that Ukrainians would be unlikely to seek a passport that provided only "the right to be arrested for a peaceful protest," and offering Ukrainian citizenship to "all people suffering within authoritarian and corrupt regimes" but first "to Russians, who suffer most of all.鈥� In one sense, the two offers neutralize each other; in another, if Putin is testing Ukraine鈥檚 new leader, Zelensky has perhaps played into Putin鈥檚 hands: if the nations offer passports to each other鈥檚 residents, then, as Putin in response to Zelensky鈥檚 statement, 鈥淪ooner or later, we鈥檒l have common citizenship.鈥�

The creation of new laws to suit elite interests is not a new phenomenon in Russia. However, the expansion of this legal relativism to infringe on the sovereignty and citizenship of other nations is a dangerous new instrument in Russia鈥檚 strategic toolkit for spreading influence in its neighborhood.