On June 4 the Russian State Duma will consider in a first reading amendments suggested by the executive branch to the Law on State Policy with Regard to Compatriots Living Abroad, RIA Novosti reports.
This legislative initiative aims to further refine the definition of “compatriots living abroad” by excluding the possibility of automatically including all people living in states that were once part of the Soviet Union.
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said in March that the government had prepared a new legislation to support compatriots abroad. And as Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov noted, the current legislation was adopted in 1999 and does not reflect the realities of current Russian policy in this area.
The amendments will define compatriots as Russian citizens living abroad and people living outside of Russia who have made the free choice in favor of spiritual and cultural ties with Russia, who as a rule are connected with peoples that have historically resided on the territory of the country.
The criteria for determining whether an individual who is not a Russian citizen can be called a compatriot should be based on the principle of self-identification reinforced by corresponding public or professional activity.
The legislation includes norms by which compatriots can register in compatriot organizations and receive documentation (certificates) confirming their membership in such organizations.
The legislation also reflects the country’s foreign policy concept adopted in 2008 and recent efforts to encourage the resettlement of compatriots to the Russian Federation.
