Russia in the Post-Soviet Space: Dual Citizenship as a Foreign Policy Instrument Igor A. Zevelev Igor A. Zevelev, Doctor of Science (Political Science) MGIMO University (Moscow State Institute of International Relations), Russia Professor Kennan Institute of the Wilson Center, Washington, USA Global Fellow: https://www.wilsoncenter.org/person/igor-zevelev ORCID: 0000-0003-0579-2679 Scopus Author ID: 6506359127 ResearcherID: AAH-5983-2021 Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=OrfxYF4AAAAJ E-mail:
[email protected] Address: One Woodrow Wilson Plaza, 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington DC 20004, USA DOI: 10.31278/1810-6374-2021-19-2-10-37 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 10 RUSSIA IN GLOBAL AFFAIRS Russia in the Post-Soviet Space: Dual Citizenship as a Foreign Policy Instrument intersection of several disciplines—political science, international studies, and sociology. Keywords: Russia, foreign policy, citizenship, post-Soviet space, Ukraine, Central and Eastern Europe. Over the past three years, Russia has adopted laws that considerably accelerate the spread of dual citizenship in Ukraine and potentially in Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Moldova.