Putin applies Duma to ratify a deal easing acquisition of Russian citizenship for de facto Tskhinvali residents

Russian President Vladimir Putin has submitted an agreement to Duma, the state legislature, for ratification which envisages simplified acquisition of Russian citizenship for residents of Georgia’s occupied Tskhinvali region. 

The document was signed back in 2021 and it allows the locals of the region to receive the citizenship of Russia without losing ‘the citizenship of South Ossetia (Tskhinvali).” 

Per the document, the individuals who will be granted the “dual citizenship” will receive social security, education services as well as  medical care under the law of the”country” in which they  will live permanently. This norm also applies to military service.

In case of ratification, the document will be valid for five years and it will be automatically extended until either party wishes to terminate it.