Russian consulates are refusing to issue passports on a massive scale
Russians are increasingly facing refusals to issue foreign passports at Russian diplomatic missions abroad. The latest incident occurred in Finland, where the Russian Consulate in Helsinki refused to issue a new passport to activist Ana Eva Devdarian, causing her to lose the opportunity to renew her residence permit.
Similar cases have previously been reported involving other opposition activists whom Russian authorities link to anti-war activities or criminal cases. This was reported by Yle.
Devdariani left Russia in 2019 to attend language courses, and later enrolled in college and obtained a residence permit in Finland. In 2023, her student residence permit initially expired, which she planned to renew based on her employment, and later her Russian passport also expired. According to Devdariani, the consulate cited debt as the reason for the refusal and suggested she return to Russia. She later discovered that a court case had been filed against her after she left for Finland, and she lost it. The Russian consulate did not respond to Yle’s inquiry.
This is not the first such case. In 2024, Russian consulates refused to issue foreign passports to former supporters and employees of Navalny’s FBK—Lilia Chanisheva and Ksenia Fadeeva. Both were expelled from Russia. Chanysheva was denied a passport by the Russian diplomatic mission. She was sentenced to 9.5 years in a case involving an “extremist community.” Fadeeva received a denial from the consular section of the Russian Embassy in Lithuania; she was offered only an entry permit—a document for returning to Russia. The document stated that she was prohibited from leaving Russia due to her conviction in the case regarding the organization of an “extremist community.” In December 2023, she was sentenced to nine years in a penal colony and a fine of 500,000 rubles.
Refusals to issue documents were also reported by Elena Lekiashvili, a former staff member of Navalny’s campaign office in Yaroslavl; activist Alipat Sultanbegova; and politician Vladimir Kara-Murza in the U.S. In all cases, the reason cited was restrictions on leaving Russia—due to fines, court cases, or criminal proceedings.
As a reminder:
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Finland has deported a record number of Russians
