Citizen of the Russian Federation: determination of status under the Constitution of the Russian Federation

Citizenship as a legal status

Many people wonder what it means to be a citizen. The theory of constitutional law answers it in detail. A citizen is a person endowed with citizenship, and citizenship, in turn, is a stable, unbreakable bond based on law, which is expressed by the presence of mutual rights, duties and responsibilities. Thus, citizenship is a legal regime in which a person is a citizen of a certain state. In constitutional law, citizenship acts as an institution enshrined in the fundamental law of the country - the constitution.

Types of citizenship

Previously, in some monarchical states, citizenship was in the form of the institution of citizenship. This legal regime is determined by the connection of a person with a special monarch, and not with the state. Such a legal model is characterized by a deep anti-democratic meaning, because the citizen is responsible to a special, and not a socio-political structure in the form of a state. Today, in many countries, citizenship has been replaced by citizenship, since the latter is a more thoughtful and functional institution.

Process of acquiring citizenship

So, we found out above that a person must have a legal connection with the state, which allows him to understand what it means to be a citizen. But the legal institution of citizenship does not arise just like that. There are certain ways to acquire it, namely:

Filiation. This is a method of obtaining citizenship based on a person's birth. There are several types of filiation: by right of blood, soil and inheritance.

The following method is applicable in cases where a person is, in fact, a citizen of another country, but wants to acquire citizenship of another state. This type is called naturalization. There are two types of such acquisition of citizenship: registration and grant.

International law also distinguishes two types of obtaining citizenship: transfer (the territory of one state comes under the control of another) and option (the choice of citizenship by a person when crossing the border).

Components of the status of a citizen of the Russian Federation

Like any sovereign state, the Russian Federation has its own state symbols (attributes): flag, coat of arms, anthem and capital. Attributes of a citizen of the Russian Federation are documents with which a Russian can confirm his legal connection with the state.

This, according to Article 10 of the Law on Citizenship, is, first of all, a passport or other document that contains an indication of the citizenship of an individual. The internal passport is the main one (that is, it contains the full name of his name), so everyone who has reached the age of 14 and lives in the country at that time is required to receive it. Its absence, although formally does not deprive, but in practice sharply reduces the opportunity for the full implementation of guaranteed rights and freedoms.

By the way, one can establish one’s identity not only by a passport - an international passport, driver’s license or military ID can also be considered additional attributes of a citizen. Thus, a Russian is an individual who has Russian citizenship and has a document confirming such citizenship.

Ways to terminate citizenship

In some cases, a person's citizenship may be terminated. The legislation of states around the world provides for the following possibilities for this:

Renunciation of citizenship. This opportunity is exercised exclusively at the initiative of the citizen. In many states, the institution of refusal is a novelty, because many constitutions establish an “unbreakable” connection between their citizens and the country. In the Russian Federation, renunciation of citizenship is prohibited unless a person provides evidence of acquiring the citizenship of another state.
There is a certain type of liability that involves depriving a person of citizenship. Many countries have abandoned this opportunity, but this sanction is effective against people who have committed anti-state crimes. Deprivation of citizenship must be distinguished from expatriation, in which a person is expelled from the territorial borders of the state.
There are times when a person expresses a desire to enter into a legal relationship with another country in order to receive a new package of rights and obligations. To do this, a change of citizenship is made.

Who is the easiest to obtain citizenship?

In order to be able to obtain Russian citizenship under a simplified scheme, a foreign citizen must have some grounds for this. The following categories of citizens are eligible for simplified acquisition of citizenship in accordance with Federal Law 62 “On Citizenship of the Russian Federation”:

Persons with citizenship of the former USSR;
Persons who have parents or relatives who are citizens of the Russian Federation;
Persons married to a citizen of the Russian Federation for more than 3 years;
Investors and businessmen making contributions to the Russian economy;

And others. A complete list of categories of citizens entitled to a simplified procedure for obtaining citizenship is contained in Federal Law-62 “On Citizenship of the Russian Federation”.

The importance of the institution of citizenship in law

The development of democracy throughout the world has brought the institution of citizenship to the forefront. This indicates that the role of human rights and freedoms has increased significantly. Such changes have led to the fact that an ordinary person is able to influence the political life of the state through suffrage. It should be noted that being a citizen of a state means having a certain amount of rights and freedoms. In other words, this is a certain model of legal relations between the state and the individual. In each country, this model is organized differently, so citizens of several states will have completely different rights and obligations.

Regulatory framework

Who is a citizen of the Russian Federation according to the Constitution, first of all, can be found out directly from our country: according to Article 6, the acquisition and termination of indigeneity is possible on the grounds and in the manner provided for by federal legislation. The Constitution establishes that a citizen has all the rights and obligations guaranteed throughout the territory of the state. Such rights, according to Articles 61 and 62 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, include, inter alia, the impossibility of expulsion from Russia, the right to protection from the Russian Federation outside its borders, as well as the right to second citizenship. Simply put, the word “citizen” in the Constitution of the Russian Federation means a person who has a Russian passport and enjoys all constitutional guarantees in the Russian Federation and abroad.

The legal status is clarified by No. 62-FZ dated May 31, 2002. According to Article 7 of this law, all those who have ever been able to acquire a Russian passport, both before the introduction of this law and after its entry into force, should be considered a citizen. Therefore, in a legal sense, a citizen is a person who has the right of citizenship.

Find out more details about.

Regulatory acts regulating the institution of citizenship

There are a number of normative acts of an international and national nature that fully regulate the existing institution of citizenship in the Russian Federation, and can also provide a legal assessment and answer to the question of what it means to be a citizen of the state. The article below will present a few of them, since the entire list is too long.

Declaration of Human Rights.
Convention for the Protection of Human Rights.
Covenant on Political and Civil Rights.
European Convention on Nationality.
Constitution of the Russian Federation.
Federal Law of the Russian Federation “On Citizenship of the Russian Federation”.
Civil Code of the Russian Federation.

It should be remembered that these normative documents present only the legal characteristics of the concept of “citizen”. At the same time, this term carries a completely different meaning, making it possible to understand what it means to be a real citizen.

Citizen of the Russian Federation: who is this?

Now let's figure out who is called citizens of Russia. Despite the obvious formulation, many consider this concept from different points of view: society, morality, law, and so on. If we look at the definition from the obvious position of the legislator, then a citizen of Russia is, first of all, an individual who has legally acquired Russian citizenship and at the given moment in question is its direct bearer; he should not renew it in any way or further confirm it. From a legal perspective, the holder of a Russian passport is a person who is endowed with a number of civil rights and burdened with a number of civil responsibilities.

The points of view of society and morality are much narrower: the criteria declared in this context are only an integral part of citizenship. In particular, a citizen of the Russian Federation from a social and moral position is a patriotically minded subject who actively participates in the socio-political and cultural life of the country, honors its history and is proud of its achievements. And although there are even legislative prerequisites for the formation of such a “bright image” of a citizen, the opposite behavior of an individual under no circumstances will become a reason for depriving him of the “high rank” of a citizen of the Russian Federation.

A mandatory quality of citizenship of the Russian Federation is conscientious compliance with the civil duties assigned to its bearer (taxes, military service, and so on).

The fact that the concept is much broader is also confirmed by the grounds for acquiring citizenship.

It will not be superfluous to figure out who can be a citizen of the Russian Federation. Thus, in the grounds provided for by law, there is not a word about the moral and ethical qualities of the person acquiring Russian indigenous property.

In essence, Russian citizenship is acquired on the following grounds:

;
from persons (children, parents, spouse) who have;
reside in the territory of the Russian Federation legally for 5 years and undergo the admission procedure;
;
.

Citizenship as a psychological state of a person

It was said above that the legal connection between a person and the state is carried out through the implementation of the institution of citizenship. In everyday life, people do not think at all about what it means to be a real citizen.

You must always remember not only your relationship with certain people, but also your connection with the state in which the person was born. For many centuries, philosophers have considered the concept of “citizen” in the context of a person’s psychological state. This is an internal awareness and acceptance of the fact of belonging to a great people who live in a certain territory. A person’s identification of himself as part of a whole is what it means to be a citizen. Of course, in many cultures the concept of “citizen” will differ significantly, taking into account territorial and ethnic characteristics, but in European countries and in particular Russia the term will be almost identical.

Every Russian citizen is a millionaire from birth

This information is primarily for those who consider it “correct” to make payments for housing and communal services and who are indignant at those who claim that all housing and communal services have been paid for.

Let's look at the official response from the Administration of the President of the Russian Federation dated October 12, 2017, No. A 26-02-NO-94809291. I quote verbatim

ADMINISTRATION OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION!

OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION

ON WORKING WITH APPLICATIONS OF CITIZENS AND ORGANIZATIONS

Yours. message addressed to the President of the Russian Federation in the form of an electronic document on issues of monitoring execution for the timely receipt of the budget share of one citizen in the Administration of the city of Kuznetsk. To improve the standard of living of citizens in the Russian Federation and transfer to you the value of your share of extracted natural resources, registered on 10/04/2017 under No. N 0-948092 has been considered.

We inform you that the budget of the Russian Federation is formed from the sale of resources

, which this year amounted to
13.43 trillion rubles
.
Of this amount, 40% were transferred to the regions
.

Government of the Russian Federation

according to the Budget Code of the Russian Federation,
it allocates funds for payments to citizens of the Russian Federation
who have drawn up and approved personal budget estimates.
This year, 36,650,000 rubles have been allocated from the budget for each resident of Russia
.

According to the Constitution of the Russian Federation, in the Russian Federation, as a democratic, legal and social state, a person, his rights and freedoms are the highest value, and the recognition, observance and protection of the rights and freedoms of man and citizen is the responsibility of the state; Every citizen of the Russian Federation has all rights and freedoms on its territory and bears equal responsibilities provided for by the Constitution of the Russian Federation (C.1 Part 1; Article 2; Article 6 Part 2; Article 7).

The natural nature of the rights of every citizen follows from the fact that the bearer of sovereignty and the only source of power in the Russian Federation is its multinational people (Article 3 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation). This is the most important basis of the constitutional system of the Russian Federation and receives real and practical implementation through the rights of every citizen to a decent life in the Russian Federation

To pay utility bills to homeowners

According to the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of February 11, 2021 No. 97 “On federal standards for payment of housing and utilities for 2021 - 2021”,
transfers totaling 768 billion rubles have been allocated, so each homeowner can receive compensation
according to the attached table payments to PP No. 97, depending on the region of residence.

Therefore, on all issues of material support to receive compensation payments for a decent life and payment for housing and communal services

, with the consent of the Constitution of the Russian Federation,
it is necessary to submit a corresponding application to the head of the administration of your city
, because
The right to own, use and dispose of municipal property
by the Constitution of the Russian Federation - the law having the highest legal force -
is attributed
in Article 130
to the population
(Part 1)
represented by citizens
(Part 2) of the municipality exercising local self-government when resolving issues of local importance.

Consultant of the Department of Written Appeals from Citizens and Organizations L Voronina

So, dear citizens, “the defendant has money” and, as you can see, not only to pay for housing and communal services, but also for a decent life.

What does it mean to be a citizen of Russia?

In the process of its historical development, man became a part of society. None of us can live outside of society, with the exception of certain cases, such as, for example, asceticism. During the times of Ancient Greece, the most terrible punishment was expulsion from the community. This indicates that a person simply cannot live without his relatives. Today, many people in modern Russia are asking the question: “What does it mean to be a citizen of a country?” After all, the majority of the Russian population who own Russian Federation passports can be called citizens, but receiving this document does not yet make a person a real part of a great nation. A citizen is a person endowed with the quality of patriotism, a deep awareness of his indestructible connection with the great people of Russia.

Such people respect and love their land and try to influence the well-being of the state through their own efforts. When we ask ourselves what it means to be a citizen of Russia, we need to remember the words of a great man who is not associated with the Russian Federation, but hit the nail on the head with his statement: “Don’t ask about what your country has done for you. You have to think about what you can do, what you have done for your country.” These words belong to John Kennedy. The statement reveals in detail the meaning of what a good citizen means for his state.

Qualities of a Good Citizen

Recently, it has become very fashionable to award the title of worthy, honorary resident, citizen, person, etc. However, it is completely unclear by what criteria people decide what it means to be a worthy citizen. The advantages of any person before his state are manifested, first of all, in tolerance to all negative changes in political and social life. The feeling of love for your country is of no small importance.

After all, it was on its territory that everyone received life, knowledge, and the opportunity for self-development. Of course, not all of us have tolerance, patriotism, or deep love for our homeland. This leads to the question of what does it mean to be a citizen? Today, trends have changed in many ways, so a person of society, a worthy citizen, is not required to possess absolutely all of the listed qualities; it is enough that he shows at least the slightest attempt to influence the life of his state. Also of fundamental importance is resistance to all the troubles and adversities that may arise in the process of historical development of any country.

Considering all the points mentioned above, we can answer the question: “What does it mean to be a citizen of a country?” A person worthy of being called a citizen can count on mutual assistance from the state in any matters of life.