Court name: Supreme Court of Saha Republic
State: Russian Federation
Date of decision:
Legal instruments: 1997 European Convention on Nationality
Key aspects: Acquisition of nationality, Deprivation of nationality, Determination/confirmation of nationality, Establishing identity, Residence permit, State succession
The applicant is a former USSR citizen, who has been residing on the territory of Russian Federation since 1990. He has received an "insert" into his passport in 1994 as evidence of him being recognised as a Russian citizen, which was a standard procedure at a time. In 2011 a "verification" took place - a policy that resulted in questioning of many citizenships acquired after the fall of the Soviet Union, including the applicant. The Court sided with the applicant, considering among others that refusal to recognise him as a Russian citizen would result in his statelessness.