Russia has become 2.5 times more likely to provide citizenship

Russia in the first four months of 2020 provided citizenship of almost 216 thousand people. This is two and a half times longer than the same period last year, follows from the statistics of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

According to the international audit-consulting network, Finexpertiza, which is given by RBC, the bulk of the people who received Russian citizenship are citizens of Ukraine-residents of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics. In 2019, their share immediately doubled, to 60 percent, and in the first quarter of 2020 reached 67 percent - Russian passports received over 108 thousand citizens of Ukraine.

Last summer, Vladimir Putin signed a decree on the expansion of the simplified procedure for obtaining Russian citizenship for all residents of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions of Ukraine. Previously, only residents of the DPR and LPR could receive a Russian passport for this procedure.

In April this year, Vladimir Putin signed a law that allows foreigners to receive Russian citizenship without abandoning a foreign one. Prior to this, when submitting an application for citizenship, foreigners had to confirm that they applied to the authorized bodies in their country with a statement of refusal of citizenship.

According to the concept of state migration policy for 2019–2025, it is supposed to attract 5-10 million people to Russia, writes RBC.

The Bell notes that the population of Russia is rapidly declining for the second year in a row. In January - October 2019, a natural decline reached almost 260 thousand people.