Soviet citizenship law

After the Russian Revolution, between 1917 and 1923, citizenship questions were subject to the control of various bodies in the "numerous independent and semi-independent republics and regions." Earlier leaders did not focus on citizenship law, because they believed that an ongoing worldwide Communist revolution would eventually join all person on the world into one larger Communist citizenship. The 1923 USSR constitution established a single uniform USSR citizenship for all citizens of the SSRs. It was not until October 29, 1924 that the first comprehensive citizenship laws or regulations came into effect in the USSR, making it difficult to determine citizenship status until then. The first comprehensive Soviet law on citizenship, in 1924, established USSR citizenship, status of foreigners, citizenship at birth, citizenship effect on children of their parents, and naturalization. A 1930 revision modified a few details. It also greatly expanded the power to denaturalize citizens. ==First comprehensive laws==

The "Statute on Citizenship of the Union of the S.S.R. of April 22, 1931" laid out Soviet laws on citizenship. Experts believes that SSR citizenship was largely non-existent. It was originally designed to replace all earlier Soviet citizenship regulations and laws, until that provision was removed, as it was too terse to provide substantial guidance, so that only conflicting earlier provisions were replaced. The 1938 law no longer stated that all persons in Soviet territory were presumed to be citizens. It created officially stateless persons who did not have Soviet citizenship and could not prove other citizenship. The 1931 act was repealed in 1939. ==Practical application==

Details of naturalization in the 1931 law were deliberately kept vague, so as to provide full power to administrative authorities to decide upon who might be admitted to citizenship. There were no official requirements for residency; knowledge of language, history, constitution, or political system; minimum income; or the like. All that was required was an application and renunciation of other citizenships, and specifying of a particular SSR citizenship. In the period leading up to the 1938 law, the Soviet political system made strong use of deprivation of citizenship and reinstatement as instrument of discipline and sanction. Entire groups or categories were stripped of citizenship or the rights of citizenship. ==1940s regional citizenship laws==

In the 1940s a variety of decrees concerning USSR citizenship for persons from specific areas and regions were enacted, including: • Lithuanian, Latvian, and Estonian SSRs, on September 7, 1940 • Bessarabia and northern Bukovina, on March 8, 1941 • former Russian Manchuria on November 10, 1945 • former Russian territories in Xinjiang, Shanghai, and Tianjin, on January 20, 1946 • Soviet Armenia, on October 19, 1946 • Czechoslovakia, on October 31, 1946 • Klaipėda, Šilutė, and Pagėgiai, Lithuanian SSR, on December 16, 1947 In February 1947, the USSR prohibited marriage between citizens of the USSR and aliens, but repealed that law in November 1953. In March 1948, the USSR laid out procedures for Lithuanian, Latvian, and Estonian nationals living in Latin America to acquire Soviet citizenship. A 1954 citizenship decree that reinstated the 1931 citizenship regulations changed the outlines of who was a Soviet citizen by stating that all persons who have "long resided" in Soviet territory were Soviet citizens, including those persons who had been denied citizenship. ==Late changes==

Changes to the USSR's citizenship laws were also enacted by 1977 constitution and the December 1, 1978 law on citizenship, with the latest change being in 1990. == Post-Soviet citizenships ==

After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the following citizenship laws came into effect in the following post-Soviet states: ==References==