Russia in the post-soviet space: dual citizenship as a foreign policy instrument

Abstract

The spread of dual citizenship in the post-Soviet space is becoming one of the most important tools for ensuring Russia’s hegemony in the region. However, this phenomenon is often overlooked in foreign policy analysis. The study of changes in Russian legislation shows that over the past three years Russia has created a legal framework that would accelerate the spread of dual citizenship in Ukraine and potentially in Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Moldova. So, Moscow gets powerful leverage, but its use has so far run into both internal constraints and concerns within the Russian government structures and the resistance of neighboring independent states. Thus, a new research field is taking shape at the intersection of several disciplines—political science, international studies, and sociology.