Pavel’s story
I had two main reasons to renounce the Russian citizenship at that point of time – it is my child and ties with Ukraine (I mean everything by that: relatives, friends and unwillingness to be closed).
If you watch the Russian aggression to smaller countries, it is easy to imagine that this state will be without allies and surrounded by states, which are unfriendly towards it, after some time.
There is a high risk that another war will be unleashed when my child is of full age. I don’t want him to lay down his life for ambitions of this state.
As for the connection with Ukraine. Two years prior to the events I visited Abkhazia – it is a wonderful place, with amazing beauties of nature and very poor people, destroyed infrastructure, without laws that work and without any prospects. The same picture about the future reserved for occupied Crimea flashed across my mind. It is clear that in such circumstances it would be desirable to have the opportunity to escape and keep in touch with the rest of the world. Now I can go to Ukraine having Crimean vehicle plate numbers, it is not allowed to get mainland Ukraine from Crimea having the Russian ones.
Sooner or later Crimeans who received the Russian citizenship will be placed under obligation to change vehicle plate numbers for the Russian ones. None of them will be able to go to the mainland by car. I thought it was the sufficient second reason to renounce the Russian citizenship.
Even if plate numbers with the letter code “AK” won’t be recognized in Ukraine or Russia, there is still a possibility to change them for other ones.
Later, there was the third reason not to regret the Russian citizenship renunciation – events in Donbass and growing xenophobia in Russia. When I was waiting in one of the endless lines to get a residence permit at FMS, a pensioner-refusenik shared his fear: in case of official declaration of war by Russia, we all will be deported as unreliable persons. To my mind, it is a good chance to jump out of a closing mousetrap.
As for the procedure of renunciation, it was wrapped in mystery. A group for those people who wanted to retain the citizenship was organized in Facebook, most of information was obtained there. I shared it with my friends.
In fact, they started to accept applications for withdrawal from the Russian citizenship and retention of the Ukrainian one two weeks before the deadline. At first, it was Simferopol and Sevastopol, then they started to accept applications in Bakhchisaray, Belogorsk and Yalta.
At the same time, there were long queues in Sevastopol and Simferopol, many people didn’t have time to renounce the Russian citizenship because of this. We decided with my wife that she and our daughter would get the citizenship of the Russian Federation automatically, I and our son would refuse. I filed my application in Bakhchisaray on the last day, there were no queues there. One my friend refused together with me, others were afraid because of possible problems with business, real estate, job.
Actually, a residence permit doesn’t create any problems for living in Crimea. I had to read the Russian laws before renouncing the Russian citizenship. I decided for myself that I would pass the full procedure of getting a residence permit including the departure from Crimea for 90 days, if necessary. I found out in my office that they wouldn’t mind if I worked remotely for three months (we had such a practice). Later, after my renunciation, there was information about the simplified procedure of a residence permit issuance.
A residence permit provides all the rights that a citizen (who obtained a Russian passport) has, except for military service, right to vote in elections, government’s employ. Generally, it suits me. The main thing is that I can live and work in Crimea, at home. Although Ukraine is also my home, my roots are there.
However, perhaps, there is one problem – it is the fear of my parents because of my and son’s renunciation. They remind me about that every time we meet. The influence of the Soviet era: “don’t stick your head out, follow the crowd, suffer with all the rest.” I have no idea how to set their mind at rest.
I obtained a residence permit, but it’s not all as easy as it sounds. Waiting in queues started since the beginning of summer, when residence permit forms appeared. Queues are a real science: on a first-come, first-served basis, according to the lists, with roll calls, with registers, with coupons, with day-night shifts. It takes a lot of working hours that should be caught up. I received a residence permit late November. According to the Russian laws, I should get registration at the place of residence within 7 working days after the issuance of the residence permit.
I have been standing in line to register at FMS within four months since the end of November. Sometimes everything begins to seem hopeless and pointless but I chose this way myself.
Everyone who lives in Crimea now lives in fear of uncertain future. But someone could allay fears by hope, while the hopes of other people have already fallen to the ground in the harsh Russian reality.
