Passport politics: Crimeans forced to choose between Russia and Ukraine
Published 11 October, 2008, 05:32
Ethnic Russians living in Ukraine’s Crimea region have spoken out against a campaign by Kiev urging people to give up their dual citizenship. The government wants people to decide between holding a Russian passport or a Ukrainian one. But local people have pledged to resist – saying agreeing to the move could mean losing their job and would make their life a nightmare.
The issue reflects the trend of dual nationality in the Crimea, reflected in a recent poll which revealed that 75 per cent of people in the region think that Russia's Black Sea Fleet, based at Sevastopol, should stay there.
Sergey has been serving with the fleet for two decades. He spoke to RT on the condition that his real name wasn’t used, fearing prosecution.
Like many people he holds two passports, both Russian and Ukrainian, but it is becoming a serious concern for him now that the government wants to clamp down on dual citizenship.
“Without a Ukrainian passport I can’t register any heritage, I can’t buy or sell property,” he said. “I can’t buy or register a car here. On the other hand, I’m a servicemen of the Russian Black Sea fleet and if I give up my Russian passport, I will lose my job.”
The city of Sevastopol has been home to the Russian naval base since the collapse of the Soviet Union, meaning more than half the town’s population is ethnic Russian.
After the Soviet demise, people who worked in Sevastopol were automatically given a Ukrainian passport, even though they were Russians.
But now the presence of the Black Sea fleet has become one of the main problems in relations between the two countries, with Ukrainian authorities wanting holders of two passports to give one of them up.
A special commission revealed that a large proportion of Russian servicemen fall into this category.
“We established that more than 1,500 servicemen of the Black Sea fleet have double citizenship,” said Sergey Makarov from Ukraine’s Interior Ministry. “But given that we cannot control the process of giving citizenship by other states, I can’t say how many more people could have two passports. This number could be at least twice as much.”
Prime Minister Yulia Timoshenko’s party came up with an initiative to impose a criminal penalty for carrying two passports, although Ukrainian law doesn’t provide for that.
Some experts relate this with the fact that recently Russia has significantly eased citizenship procedures.
According to new legislation, if a person has relatives in Russia, he or she can apply for citizenship and will be granted it without having to live in Russia for five years. This also applies to foreigners who graduate from universities in Russia.
With this system in place, it is estimated the number of Russian passport holders in Ukraine could reach 8 million people. And some analysts believe it is an attractive option that many people could go for, with Russia offering higher salaries and being in constant demand of a workforce.
But in Kiev’s political circles, some see a deeper political pretext. After Russia intervened in the South Ossetian conflict, saying it was protecting its citizens, several politicians expressed concerns that the same scenario could unfold in the Crimea – a region which often calls itself Russian. Reports came through that the Russian consulate on the peninsula was giving away citizenships to residents.
But this was denied by Russian officials. Igor Astakhov, Russian consul in the Crimea, said: “This information appeared after the South Ossetian conflict, and I believe that the people who published it wanted to destabilise the situation in the region and to undermine bilateral relations. I can assure you that we’ve never done anything like that and the Russian consulate has been working to its regular schedule.”
An international political game or just a domestic issue? While experts debate the real reasons behind the developments, people with dual citizenship in Ukraine are faced with a tough choice. So far it seems they would rather resist the initiative, stay undercover, and not inform authorities about having both passports – even if they feel uncomfortable in doing so.
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