By Murad Rakhimov | 2025-05-29

TASHKENT -- No passport? No problem. The Russian military is opening its ranks to a new kind of recruit: stateless men with no citizenship, no legal papers and no national home.

A new bill submitted to the State Duma would let these men sign up to fight -- and, in return, presumably offer them something they lack: a country to call their own.

The proposal, now published on the Duma's website, aims to amend laws on military duty and citizenship, effectively treating stateless men the same as foreign nationals already eligible for military service under professional contracts. Serve in uniform, and you may earn your Russian passport, no matter whose war you are fighting.

It remains a proposal, not a law, so far.

Stateless, but with a contract

According to the Federal Security Service (FSB) Border Service, more than 89,000 stateless persons entered Russia in 2024, excluding tourists and transit travelers.

Russian law defines a stateless person as someone who is not a Russian citizen and lacks documentation proving citizenship in any other state.

Alisher Ilkhamov, director of the Central Asia Due Diligence center in London, told Kontur that Russia's offer of citizenship to stateless recruits in exchange for military service violates its own legal obligations.

"According to the Federal Citizenship Law, Russia is obligated to grant citizenship to stateless persons on its territory as part of humanitarian aid, without conditions or coercion," he said.

Dmitry Dubrovsky, a sociologist at Charles University in Prague, told Kontur that involving stateless individuals in wars raises major legal concerns.

Under international law, "stateless persons are likely to be treated under international law like citizens of the country they fight for," which could create "a range of legal complications" regarding their accountability in potential war crimes, he said.

Ilkhamov warned that Russia's recruitment efforts risk drawing stateless men into war crimes, potentially deepening public stigma and violating both international and Russian law.

Amid mounting losses in Ukraine, the Russian authorities have began recruiting foreign nationals to bolster their military ranks.

In September 2022, President Vladimir Putin signed a decree enabling foreigners to fast-track Russian citizenship by signing a one-year military contract and serving at least six months in combat, no residency or permit required.

A follow-up decree in January 2024 further eased the process. Foreign recruits now may obtain citizenship without passing exams in Russian language, history or law, as long as they enlist before the end of hostilities.

A war fought by others

Self-exiled Russian human rights advocate Alexander Kim told Kontur that one reason for recruiting stateless individuals is the Kremlin's reluctance to mobilize the native population en masse. A steady stream of body bags returning to Russian cities, he warned, could quickly erode public support.

"From the very beginning of the war, the Kremlin has relied on mobilizing ethnic minorities, foreigners and stateless persons, viewing them as 'cannon fodder' to replenish its army," Kim told Kontur.

According to the Interior Ministry, over 3,300 foreign nationals had received Russian citizenship by last November in exchange for joining the military. By June of that year, more than 30,000 had gained citizenship through enlistment -- 10,000 of whom were already deployed to Ukraine.

Kim noted that the military no longer emphasizes citizenship status in recruitment. The contract forms he reviewed contained no mention of legal status.

"This means literally anyone at all can sign such a contract," he said.

With casualties mounting -- 950,000 killed or wounded since the invasion began -- Russia is struggling to maintain troop levels. The UK Ministry of Defense estimates 160,000 troops were lost in just the first four months of 2025, warning the year could become the war's deadliest yet.

Meanwhile, morale among troops is eroding. A survey by Verstka and independent sociologists, published in April, found that 72% of Russian soldiers in Ukraine want the war to end. Among those on the front for less than two years, support for peace jumps to 77%.

Only 22% of Russian troops in Ukraine are willing to continue the war for the sake of "victory," another 2% want to fight to avenge the dead and 4% were unable to give an answer.

While more than half of all respondents said they would back a troop withdrawal even without achieving the war's goals, only 18% of regular soldiers and officers agreed. Support was far higher among conscripts, mobilized reservists, new troops who had joined the army voluntarily and prisoners.