Moscow has started to annul the internal passports of Russian emigrants who have publicly condemned the country’s invasion of Ukraine.

This is the latest form of pressure from Russia on citizens who are wanted by the authorities. In Russia citizens are issued two different passports – one for international travel, and one for internal use that functions as the standard form of ID.

According to The Barents Observer, a Norwegian paper based in Kirkenes, just a few kilometres from the Russian border, there are at least nine known cases of Russians having their internal passports revoked. 

Olesya Krivtsova, a journalist from Arkhangelsk, fled to Norway after being accused of “discrediting” the Russian army and “justifying terrorism” in her anti-war social media posts. Now working for The Barents Observer, she discovered her internal passport had been annulled when she tried to renew her soon-expiring international passport at the Russian Consulate in Kirkenes. Her renewal request was denied, with diplomats explaining that she had been rejected because she is evading criminal prosecution. This means that when her international passport expires, she will have no valid identification. While international passports can be renewed abroad, Russians must return home to get a new internal passport.

Her situation is similar to that of activists Daniil Chebykin and Richard King, whose passports were annulled without notice after visiting the Russian embassy in Yerevan. Chebykin and King are the founders of the Omsk Civil Association, which has been recognised as a "foreign agent" and an "extremist" organisation in Russia. According to Chebykin and King, six more political migrants from Russia have contacted them with similar passport issues.

Chebykin’s international passport was not renewed due to an outstanding fine owed to the police. Authorities claim that he caused police officers to work overtime during rallies in support of Alexei Navalny. As a result, Chebykin now has neither an international nor internal passport.

"My passport was scrutinised for a long time at the embassy; they didn't like something about it, but they still accepted my application for a new international passport. When my application was denied, I was told verbally that my internal passport was invalid without any explanation,” Chebykin told The Barents Observer.

According to Chebykin, an embassy employee recommended that he return to Russia to get a new passport.