Photo: Georgy Chentemirov
A Russian activist living in Norway revealed on Monday how she discovered that her Russian identity document had been cancelled while visiting the Russian Consulate in the Norwegian city of Kirkenes to renew her international passport.
Olesya Krivtsova, who was placed under house arrest in Russia in January 2023 while awaiting trial for “discrediting the Russian military” and “justifying terrorism”, managed to flee the country in March 2023 despite having an electronic tagging device attached to her ankle.
Krivtsova first learnt that her Russian ID had been invalidated after her application to the Russian Consulate in Norway to renew her passport was rejected on the grounds that there was an ongoing criminal case against her in Russia. Krivtsova added that shortly afterwards she had discovered that she could not log into the online portal for Russian public services.
While Krivtsova said that she was unsure when or why the Russian authorities chose to annul her Russian ID, she added that it didn’t particularly concern her as she “didn’t have any rights before anyway” and that she was only concerned that Russia “was coming up with ever more perverse ways to put pressure on those who have left the country”.
As Krivtsova currently resides in Norway, she cannot reapply for her Russian identity document — known in Russia as an internal passport — unless she returns to the country. Any Russian citizen over the age of 14 requires an internal passport to travel within Russia, open a bank account or receive government services.
In January 2023, Krivtsova was placed under house arrest following accusations of discrediting the Russian military and justifying terrorism after texts emerged from a group chat where Krivtsova shared a post about a rally in support of a referendum on the annexation of Ukraine.
Krivtsova, who now lives in Kirkenes in Northern Norway and writes for local media outlet The Barents Observer, is the ninth Russian citizen known to have their Russian identity document invalidated while abroad, according to a report by the Omsk Civil Association.
