After the start of the war on Ukrainein 2022, many Russians fled their country with only a state-issued identification card. Around 110,000 Russians have found refuge in Armenia alone, according to estimates by the Russian news portal The Bell.

That's where exiles Daniil Chebykin and Richard King, co-founders of the Omsk Civic Association, were among the first Russians to report that their ID cards had been revoked. Classified as "extremist" by Russian authorities, their organization addresses problems in their southwest Siberian city, protests the war in Ukraine, and fights corruption.

After both activists left Russia following the invasion of Ukraine, they eventually lost access to their Russian banking apps and SIM cards. They later found out, via the Russian Internal Affairs Ministry website, that their ID cards had also been declared invalid. Their experience is not an isolated case.

Bureaucratic repression

Chebykin and King told DW that without ID cards, they cannot give power of attorney to the lawyer representing them in a Russian court, where they are currently trying to challenge authorities' classification of their organization as "extremist" and a "foreign agent."

Chebykin now has neither a valid ID card nor a passport. Their problems with passports arose after the two contacted the Russian embassy in Armenia to apply for new ones. Chebykin was informed that his ID had been "replaced by a new one." The embassy employee explained that he would have to "solve the problem in his home country" of Russia.

Activist Olesya Krivtsova from Arkhangelsk also wanted to apply for a passport, whereupon her ID card was also declared invalid. In Russia, she is on the list of "terrorists and extremists" accused of "discrediting the armed forces of the Russian Federation" and "justifying terrorism." She was arrested in 2023, but was able to escape from house arrest to Norway, where she now works as a journalist.

Krivtsova told DW that she found out about the annulment of her ID card by chance when she decided to check the status of the document after reading about her Omsk colleagues' problem. "Four months ago, everything was fine. Back then I went to the Russian consulate and an employee scanned my ID card." 

The activist suspects that the annulment could be due to her unusual signature on the document. "When I received it, I didn't sign it, but put the word freedom and the peace symbol down instead," she says. Her lawyers say that this cannot be a reason for canceling the ID card. But to find out the real reason, a lawsuit would have to be filed in Russia against the action.

Not yet systematic

Russian authorities typically cite a formal reason for the annulment of ID cards, such as "false information given in the document," says lawyer Maxim Olenichev, who represents Russian human rights project Pervyi Otdel ("department one"). The community of lawyers and journalists defends citizens who are wrongly accused of crimes against the state.

Olenichev points out that without a valid Russian identity card it is impossible to carry out any transactions in Russia, including bank transfers, real estate sales, or obtaining a passport, which is required for travel to and residence in other countries.

Boris Bondarev, a former advisor to the Russian mission to the United Nations in Geneva, who opposes the war in Ukraine, believes that the cancelation of Russian ID cards has not yet become systematic. However, he points out that it is mainly regional authorities in the Russian Federation that use this method of repression. The former diplomat said he can't rule out the possibility that it will be extended to other members of the opposition in future.

This article was originally written in Russian.