The Russian Federal Security Service and the Interior Ministry stripped eight Central Asians of their Russian citizenship in six different regions of the country, Russian media reported on 1 June.
In particular, three residents of Tyumen Region were stripped of their Russian citizenship for “propaganda of anti-Russian sentiments, ideas about the need to unite in organised groups along ethnic lines to participate in inter-ethnic conflicts”.
As noted by the publication “Agency”, these are probably the first cases of deprivation of citizenship for spreading “anti-Russian sentiments”. Journalists studied previous cases of citizenship deprivation and did not find similar formulations, the channel “Real Time” writes.
Russian authorities cited various reasons for revoking the citizenship of the remaining five people. In particular, a resident of Altai received an administrative fine for criticising the war in the presence of children. A resident of the Arkhangelsk region was accused of dissuading compatriots from serving in the Russian army. A suspect from Tula was convicted of illegal possession of weapons. A resident of the Tver region also illegally registered migrants, including a man whom Russian security services claim is related to the terrorist attack at Crocus in 2024.