Changes in the conditions of naturalization in Russia: constitutional and legal features and prospects

This article is devoted to the analysis of the most significant changes in the citizenship legislation of the Russian Federation. The author conducted a comprehensive research of the transformation of the conditions of naturalization in Russia, considered the impact of changes on the possibility of realizing the right to citizenship, as well as on the level of development of civil society. The methodological basis of the research is dialectical-materialistic, general scientific (historical, systemic, combination of quantitative and qualitative analysis methods, survey method) and special (comparative-legal, formal-legal, sociological) methods of legal research. As part of the study, a survey was conducted of foreign citizens who express their will, as well as those who have legal grounds for acquiring citizenship of the Russian Federation. The purpose of the survey was determination the attitude of foreigners to the abolition of the condition on registration of renunciation of citizenship of a foreign state during naturalization in Russia. Based on the results of the survey, the author concluded that the majority of foreign citizens undergoing the naturalization procedure do not want to renounce the citizenship of the state of origin. The article analyzes the most acute problems that arise in practice and also provides a scientific justification of the nature and essence of recent changes in the sphere of regulation of issues of citizenship of the Russian Federation. The author suggests possible ways to improve the current legislation on citizenship of the Russian Federation within the framework of the problem under consideration.