Kremlin ukase is formal. Every male foreign citizen between the ages of 18 and 65 is now warned: to settle in Russia, he must sign a contract of at least one year with the army. Nearly four years after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, authorities are increasing their recruitment pool of men forced to leave and fight on the front lines. Since the beginning of the war, emigrants from the Caucasus and Central Asia have been targeted. The lack of official identity documents or the need to renew their residence cards leaves them in a situation of dependency that quickly turns into extortion. Thousands of restaurant employees and taxi drivers were forced to come forward. And irregular migrants, threatened with deportation, sent to detention centers, forced to sign contracts with the Ministry of Defense.
Ukase 821, signed on November 5 by Vladimir Putin, expanded and formalized this forced military recruitment: obtaining a residence permit, and perhaps also a passport, now depended on a commitment to go to the front. The new decree requires candidates, in addition to the usual administrative formalities, one of the following three documents: a contract of at least one year with the Russian armed forces, a demobilization certificate, or a medical certificate declaring unfitness for military service.
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