'Oppositionists' should be stripped of citizenship – Russian government MP
A proposed law listing the reasons someone can be deprived of Russian citizenship should be extended to people who were born in the country and hold a passport due to birthright, Russian MP Alexander Khinshtein wrote on Wednesday.
According to the politician, a member of the ruling United Russia party, the new legislation should cover people who “hate” Russia and its people, such as “oppositionists.”
On Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin submitted a bill to the State Duma with a long list of reasons citizenship can be stripped. This includes committing terrorist activities, organizing an extremist association, and espionage.
“The President’s initiatives are correct and necessary. But I would expand the grounds for deprivation of Russian citizenship so that those who received it by birthright could also be deprived of it,” Khinshtein wrote on his Telegram channel. “Sometimes you listen to the revelations of our oppositionists and think: why do you need a Russian passport if you hate your country and your people?”
However, despite the new draft law, the current Russian constitution has a blanket ban on the deprivation of citizenship.
Putin’s latest proposal comes as a part of broader reform. If the draft legislation is passed, the process of acquiring citizenship for a wide range of people will be massively simplified, including for those who lived within the borders of the Soviet Union and their children. People who have close family members who are citizens of Russia will also be able to get citizenship in a simplified manner.
