President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday ordered the creation of a service within Russia’s Interior Ministry tasked with overseeing citizenship and the registration of foreigners.
Immigration in Russia was previously the purview of a standalone Federal Migration Service. In 2016, Putin folded that service into the Interior Ministry, becoming the Main Directorate for Migration Affairs.
Putin’s latest decree establishes a Service for Citizenship and Registration of Foreign Citizens under that directorate, with the stated aim of “improving public administration in the area of migration.”
The service will be headed by former deputy prosecutor general Andrei Kikot, who will also serve as first deputy interior minister.
The creation of the new service follows Prosecutor General Igor Krasnov’s criticism of “significant lapses” with migration management at Russia’s Interior Ministry.
Russia tightened migration laws following the deadly attack on a concert venue outside Moscow in March 2024, which was claimed by the Islamic State terrorist group and allegedly carried out by gunmen from Central Asia.
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