5 of December 15, 1921, on For­ feiture of Soviet Citizenship by Certain Categories of Persons Residing Abroad1

The All-Russian Central Executive Committee and the Council of People's Commissars decree: 1. Persons of the following categories residing abroad after the of this decree shall lose their rights of Russian citizenship: (a) Persons who have resided abroad uninterrupt­ edly over five years, and who fail to take out before June 1, 1922, their passports or corresponding identification papers from soviet representatives; Note: This term shall not apply to the countries where there is no representation of the R.S.F.S.R. In those countries the term will be decided upon the estab­ lishment of such representations. (b) Persons who left Russia after November 7, 1917, without the permission of the soviet authorities; (c) Persons who voluntarily served in the armies which fought against the soviets or who have partici­ pated in any kind of counter-revolutionary organiza­ tions; (d) Persons who had the right of option for Rus­ sian citizenship and failed to avail themselves of this right within the time allowed;

1 R.S.F.S.R. Laws 1922, text 11. 295 296 SOVIET NATIONALITY (e) Persons who do not fall within the group of persons mentioned in clause (a) of the present section, but who reside abroad and who have not registered their names with the representatives of the R.S.F.S.R. with­ in the time indicated in that clause and in the Note thereto. 2. The persons enumerated in clauses (b) and (c) of Section 1 may file through the respective [soviet] repre­ sentatives their applications addressed to the All-Rus­ sian Central Executive Committee asking for restitution of their rights [of soviet Russian citizenship]. Comment A similar law was enacted in the Ukrainian Soviet Republic on March 28, 1922.2

2 Ukrainian Laws 1922, text 237, Section 38.