The issue focused on political rights of non-Ukrainian residents in Ukraine. The court stated that any foreign resident who legally stays in Ukraine for more than six months will not be considered as Ukrainian national. In effect, this law means that Russia can ban Russian citizens from visiting Ukraine and thus reduce the financial benefits they receive from living there.

To date, many legal initiatives have been launched to legalize political activity by Russians living abroad. These legal activities include writing articles in Russian language newspapers and websites, providing online