Moscow to ban state officials & military personnel from holding foreign citizenships & residence permits

Russian President Vladimir Putin has introduced a new bill to ban civil servants and armed forces personnel from holding other allegiances. The measure is set to apply to around one million state employees.

They will be prohibited from holding foreign citizenships and residence permits under the plan, which has been published in the State Duma’s online database.

Last week, the State Duma waved through a similar bill banning members of the State Council from the same rights, as well as having accounts with foreign banks.

However, earlier this month, legislation was introduced to formally allow Russian spies and intelligence officers to take foreign citizenship and residence permits if required as part of their missions. Previously, this had been a sackable offense for the country’s spooks.