Regulation of the order of proof for the rights of foreign citizenship in the USSR (1930-1950s)

The article reviews the rules according to which foreign citizenship was granted to foreigners living in the USSR (former prisoners of war, refugees, repatriates, and others). Regulations about citizenship of 1924, 1930, 1938 and legal acts of regulative bodies- OGPU, NKVD and MVD, which were taken out of record-keeping office of the Russian Federation, as well as diplomatic documents from the Political recording-office of German Ministry of Foreign Affairs were investigated. According to the Act of the USSR citizenship of 1924, foreigners living in the USSR having proved their foreign citizenship got the legal permission to live as a foreigner (Form № 1). People, who did not have such proofs, got the legal permission as a person claiming to have a foreign citizenship (Form № 2). All other persons were declared soviet citizens. In 1932 during the registration of foreigners, legal permission for living Form № 2 was cancelled. Foreigners became either holders of unified legal permission for living (people who had national passports with visas of soviet plenipotentiaries and marks about crossing the border) or were declared soviet citizens. It was the subject for criticism for the foreign Embassies and Missions, who condemned the declaration of soviet citizenship for people being indubitably foreign citizens. Regulations of the order of proof of foreign citizenship which were approved by OGPU-NKVD in 1933-1934 defined the categories of individuals who did not have the right to claim a foreign citizenship. They were persons who were born by soviet citizens and former Russian subjects; people who had received soviet passports; who had been abroad with Russian passports; former emigrants returning in the USSR; people who served in the Red Army; former prisoners of war and some others. The adoption of the USSR Constitution of 1936 demanded new amendments to the Law about citizenship. Regulations of 1930 introduced the institution of individuals without citizenship and all mentioned above categories of people became eupatrids. Regulations caused by people's dissatisfaction were settled down only after the Great Patriotic war. According to the Resolution of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR On individuals living in the territory of the USSR for a long time without an official registration of their soviet citizenship made effective in December 1954, they were declared citizens of the USSR. Only political emigrants who arrived in the USSR during 1920-1935 got legal permission for living without citizenship, and they could get soviet citizenship only by to their personal petitions

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