February 20, 2026

Dual Nationals Are Traitors, Again


Dual Nationals Are Traitors, Again
Passports from different countries. The Russian Life files.

On February 9, Novaya Gazeta Evropa revealed that Russian authorities are planning to crack down on dual citizenship by adding new penalties. According to the article, the Kremlin is reverting to the Soviet notion that citizens with second passports are traitors.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs proposed holding Russian citizens criminally liable if they fail to disclose a residency permit or citizenship from another country upon their arrival in Russia. Historian Rustam Alexander, author of Novaya Gazeta Evropa's exposé, claimed Russia is seeking to "identify potential traitors in advance." Since citizenship is viewed as a symbol of loyalty to the state, holding another passport is a red flag for authorities (no pun intended).

Hostility towards dual citizenship in Russia is not new. During the Soviet period, it was strictly forbidden to hold a second nationality. International travel and emigration were also severely restricted. Those who renounced their Soviet citizenship and sought asylum abroad often faced danger. For example, ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev refused to return to the USSR and sought political asylum in France. The performer was deemed a "defector" and sentenced in absentia to seven years in prison.

In 1990, the Soviet Union allowed for voluntary resignation of citizenship.

Unlike Soviet-era policies, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' latest initiative does not affect the right to renounce one's citizenship nor the ability to travel. Alexander claimed the latest initiative exacerbates "internal toxicity," leaving room for "administrative charges and vaguely worded criminal charges." According to the historian, "Dual citizenship [ceased] to be just a legal status and instead [has become] the mark of a potential traitor."

You Might Also Like

Elite Children Profit from War
  • February 19, 2026

Elite Children Profit from War

In over three years of full-scale invasion, the children of Russia's political elite amassed billions of rubles thanks to the country’s high-interest key rate.
Russia's Streaming Content Crackdown
  • February 16, 2026

Russia's Streaming Content Crackdown

Starting March 1, anyone can report films and TV shows streamed on social media and video services that discredit traditional Russian values.
Slowing Down, Heating Up
  • February 18, 2026

Slowing Down, Heating Up

Russian authorities may be moving to block Telegram. But could the decision backfire?  
A Spike for Spiritual Services
  • February 15, 2026

A Spike for Spiritual Services

The Russian Orthodox Church has seen a sharp increase in prices for things like baptisms, weddings, and funerals over the last few years.
Kids with Knives, Guns, and Fire
  • February 14, 2026

Kids with Knives, Guns, and Fire

Authorities are concerned about the rising incidence of violence in Russian schools, where children attack classmates, teachers, security staff, and even janitors.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of our Books

A Taste of Chekhov
December 24, 2022

A Taste of Chekhov

This compact volume is an introduction to the works of Chekhov the master storyteller, via nine stories spanning the last twenty years of his life.

Murder at the Dacha
July 01, 2013

Murder at the Dacha

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin has a problem. Several, actually. Not the least of them is the fact that a powerful Soviet boss has been murdered, and Matyushkin's surly commander has given him an unreasonably short time frame to close the case.

Little Golden Calf
February 01, 2010

Little Golden Calf

Our edition of The Little Golden Calf, one of the greatest Russian satires ever, is the first new translation of this classic novel in nearly fifty years. It is also the first unabridged, uncensored English translation ever, and is 100% true to the original 1931 serial publication in the Russian journal 30 Dnei. Anne O. Fisher’s translation is copiously annotated, and includes an introduction by Alexandra Ilf, the daughter of one of the book’s two co-authors.

Murder and the Muse
December 12, 2016

Murder and the Muse

KGB Chief Andropov has tapped Matyushkin to solve a brazen jewel heist from Picasso’s wife at the posh Metropole Hotel. But when the case bleeds over into murder, machinations, and international intrigue, not everyone is eager to see where the clues might lead.

The Latchkey Murders
July 01, 2015

The Latchkey Murders

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin is back on the case in this prequel to the popular mystery Murder at the Dacha, in which a serial killer is on the loose in Khrushchev’s Moscow...

Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka
November 01, 2012

Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

In this comprehensive, quixotic and addictive book, Edwin Trommelen explores all facets of the Russian obsession with vodka. Peering chiefly through the lenses of history and literature, Trommelen offers up an appropriately complex, rich and bittersweet portrait, based on great respect for Russian culture.

Moscow and Muscovites
November 26, 2013

Moscow and Muscovites

Vladimir Gilyarovsky's classic portrait of the Russian capital is one of Russians’ most beloved books. Yet it has never before been translated into English. Until now! It is a spectactular verbal pastiche: conversation, from gutter gibberish to the drawing room; oratory, from illiterates to aristocrats; prose, from boilerplate to Tolstoy; poetry, from earthy humor to Pushkin. 

Survival Russian
February 01, 2009

Survival Russian

Survival Russian is an intensely practical guide to conversational, colloquial and culture-rich Russian. It uses humor, current events and thematically-driven essays to deepen readers’ understanding of Russian language and culture. This enlarged Second Edition of Survival Russian includes over 90 essays and illuminates over 2000 invaluable Russian phrases and words.

The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas
October 01, 2013

The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas

This exciting new trilogy by a Russian author – who has been compared to Orhan Pamuk and Umberto Eco – vividly recreates a lost world, yet its passions and characters are entirely relevant to the present day. Full of mystery, memorable characters, and non-stop adventure, The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas is a must read for lovers of historical fiction and international thrillers.

 
White Magic
June 01, 2021

White Magic

The thirteen tales in this volume – all written by Russian émigrés, writers who fled their native country in the early twentieth century – contain a fair dose of magic and mysticism, of terror and the supernatural. There are Petersburg revenants, grief-stricken avengers, Lithuanian vampires, flying skeletons, murders and duels, and even a ghostly Edgar Allen Poe.

Bears in the Caviar
May 01, 2015

Bears in the Caviar

Bears in the Caviar is a hilarious and insightful memoir by a diplomat who was “present at the creation” of US-Soviet relations. Charles Thayer headed off to Russia in 1933, calculating that if he could just learn Russian and be on the spot when the US and USSR established relations, he could make himself indispensable and start a career in the foreign service. Remarkably, he pulled it of.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955