© Wikipedia/Expatriant.com/KJNRussian President Vladimir Putin • Russian passports
The draft law, which was submitted to the State Duma on Wednesday, proposes to make the procedure of becoming a Russian citizen easier for individuals falling into more than 20 categories.
Under the legislation, the path to obtaining Russian passports would be simplified for citizens of the former USSR and those living in its ex-republics. It would also apply to direct relatives of people who permanently resided on the territory of the old Russian Empire or Soviet Union. Individuals who have close family who are citizens of the world's largest country would also be eligible. Simplified citizenship for spouses will only be possible if they have conceived at least one child during their marriage, however. Investors seeking to come to Russia are not on the list of those entitled to the simplified acquisition of citizenship.
The document also proposes to expand the powers of the president to determine the category of people who have the right to a simplified path of obtaining Russian citizenship "not only for humanitarian purposes, but for any other reason."
The bill comes shortly after the Russian leader commented on the demographic issues he said his country was facing. Speaking last week at his annual marathon press conference, Putin said the nation's population of 146 million was "insufficient" to cover such a vast territory. Noting that there were only around 81 million people of working age, he said this put Russia at an economic disadvantage, as the country had too small a viable labor force relative to its size.
Earlier this month, Putin asserted that those looking to migrate to Russia should first study its customs and language before making the move.
"We need to make sure that people who would like to come to work here prepare for this trip to our country and for work here [while] in their homelands."
Reader Comments
I supose you mean a Lada :[Link]
Or a Volga ? [Link]
(@Winternights - Skoda is a Czech brand, NOT Russian. More to the point, exchanging any of the "western" cars that have been destroyed by EPA (and similar) requirements for a Lada would probably not be such a bad thing.)
[Link] or [Link]
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And by the way the Skoda factories, former Czech defense manufacturer, became a SS weapons factory after the German annexion. Not ver much is known about what happened there. Only that the US "Alsos" mission, led by general Leslie Groves, swooped down to that factory, "extracted" plans, materials and men before the Russians arrived. Because, That area was promised to Stalin in Teheran.
Funny thing is, Leslie Groves was also heading the Manhattan project, and the SS commander-in-chief was the mysterious Hans Kammler. Who had the V1 (buzz bomb) and the V2 (A4 missiles) under his command, and later disappeared by dying multiple times at multiple locations ... I am very pragmatic in this regard, driving a zero-social-status car that fits my space, cost and simplicity requirements (Dacia Logan).
Russia has 8 inhabitants per square kilometer on average, more akin to Finland and Kazachstan. Compare that to 7800 in Singapore, 230 in Germany, and 110 in France.
But Russia's wealth (if you leave out weapons) is mostly it's natural ressources, and not industrial production commoditites - which happen to be in neither of both towns.
Concrete and people everywhere - I would become crazy within hours, I guess ...
And, given that Canada has opened itself to being completely overrun with turd-worlders and others who are highly unlikely to ever assimilate into a reasonably homogenous "Canadian" culture, I don't consider the country to have a promising long-term future.