History of the passport system in the USSR. This certificate could not serve as an identity card for the owner, but made it easier for him to temporarily register and get a job

In all passportized areas, the passport becomes the only document "providing the identity of the owner." In paragraph 10, it was prescribed: Passport books and forms should be made according to a single model for the entire USSR. The text of passport books and forms for citizens of various Union and Autonomous Republics should be printed in two languages; in Russian and in the language commonly used in the given Union or Autonomous Republic.

The passports of the 1932 model indicated the following information: name, patronymic, surname, time and place of birth, nationality, social status, permanent residence and place of work, compulsory military service ... and documents on the basis of which a passport was issued.

Simultaneously with the resolution of the Central Executive Committee and the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR (On the Establishment of a Unified Passport System for the USSR and the Obligatory Registration of Passports), on December 27, 1932, a resolution “On the Formation of the Main Directorate of the Workers' and Peasants' Militia under the OGPU of the USSR” was issued. This body was created for the general management of the work of the worker-peasant militia of the Union republics, as well as for the introduction throughout the Soviet Union of a single passport system, registration of passports and for direct management of this matter.

In the regional and city departments of the RCM, passport departments were formed, and in the police departments - passport offices. The address and reference bureaus were also reorganized.

The heads of the city and district police departments were responsible for the implementation of the passport system and for the state of passport work. They organized this work and supervised it through the passport apparatuses (departments, desks) of subordinate militia bodies.

The functions of the police bodies for the implementation of the passport system were:

issuance, exchange and withdrawal (reception) of passports;
implementation of registration and discharge;
issuance of passes and permits to enter 1 border zone to citizens;
organization of address-reference work (address-search);
implementation of administrative supervision over observance by citizens and officials of the rules of the passport regime;
conducting mass explanatory work among the population;
identification in the process of passport work of persons hiding from the bodies of Soviet power ...

The implementation of these functions was the essence of the organization of passport work.

The general management of the work of the department of the RKM of the Union republics, including the implementation of the passport system, was entrusted to the Main Directorate of the RKM at the OGTU of the USSR. It was entrusted to him:

a) operational management of all republican and local police apparatuses allocated for passportization;

b) appointment, removal of the entire leadership of the passport apparatus of the police;

c) issuance of instructions and orders obligatory for all republican and local militia bodies on issues related to the passport system and registration of passports.

Under the district and city councils, special commissions were created to supervise the observance of the law in issuing passports, which considered citizens' complaints about the wrong actions of officials. It should be noted that the immediate reason for introducing and tightening the requirements of the passport system in the USSR was a sharp jump in criminality, especially in large cities. This happened as a result of rapid industrialization in the cities and collectivization in agriculture, a shortage of food and industrial goods.

The introduction of the passport system sharply raised the question of strengthening the passport departments with sufficiently qualified personnel.

Graduates of educational institutions of the NKVD system of the USSR and other educational institutions were sent to work in the passport departments of the police, activists of enterprises and institutions were mobilized.

Introduced in 1932, the unified passport system was changed and improved in subsequent years in the interests of strengthening the state and improving public services.

A notable stage in the history of the formation and activities of the passport and visa service was the decision of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR of October 4, 1935 "On the transfer of foreign departments and tables of executive committees to the jurisdiction of the NKVD and its local bodies", which until that time were subordinate to the OGPU.

On the basis of the Decree of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR of October 4, 1935, departments, departments and groups of visas and registration of foreigners (OViR) were created in the Main Police Department, the police departments of the republics, territories and regions.

These structures worked independently during the 30s and 40s. In the future, they were repeatedly merged with the passport apparatus of the police into single structural units and separated from them.

To improve the identification of a citizen of the USSR, since October 1937, a photographic card began to be pasted into passports, the second copy of which was kept by the police at the place of issue of the document.

In order to avoid fakes, GUM has introduced special ink for filling out passport forms and special documents. mastic for seals, stamps for fastening photographs.

In addition, it periodically sent out operational and methodological orientations to all police departments on how to recognize fake documents.

In those cases when birth certificates from other regions and republics were presented upon receipt of passports, the police were obliged to first request certificate issuance points so that the latter would confirm the authenticity of the documents.

From August 8, 1936, in the passports of former prisoners "disenfranchised" and "defectors" (who crossed the border of the USSR "arbitrarily"), the following note was made: "Issued on the basis of paragraph 11 of the Decree of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR No. 861 of April 28, 1933".

By the decree of the Central Executive Committee and the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR of June 27, 1936, as one of the measures to combat the frivolous attitude to the family and family responsibilities, it was established that upon marriage and divorce, a corresponding mark was made in the passports by the registry office.

By 1937, the passportization of the population in certain localities was completed everywhere by the government, the passport machines completed the tasks that were assigned to them.

In December 1936, the passport department of the Main Directorate of the RKM of the NKVD of the USSR was transferred to the external service department. In July 1937, local passport machines also became part of the departments and departments of the worker-peasant police departments. Their employees were charged with the daily maintenance of the passport regime.

At the end of the 1930s, significant changes were made to the passport system. The administrative and criminal liability for violation of the rules of the passport regime became tougher.

On September 1, 1939, the Supreme Soviet of the USSR adopted the Law "On universal military duty", and on June 5, 1940, by order of the People's Commissar of Defense of the USSR, guidelines were announced that determined the tasks of the police in the field of military registration ...

In the military registration tables of police departments (in rural areas and towns in the relevant executive committees of the Soviets), a primary account was kept of all those liable for military service and conscripts, personal (qualitative) registration of ordinary and junior commanding staff of the reserve.

Military accounting tables carried out their work in close contact with the district military commissariats. This work continued until the beginning of the Great Patriotic War (June 22, 1941).

Separate norms of the passport system of 1932, due to the internal and international situation that had developed by 1940, needed to be clarified and supplemented.

This problem was largely solved by the decision of the Council of People's Commissars of September 10, 1940, which approved the new Regulations on Passports. This normative act significantly expanded the scope of the Regulations on Passports, extending it to border zones, employees and workers of a number of sectors of the national economy.

The Great Patriotic War (1941-1945) required additional efforts from the Soviet militia to maintain the passport regime in the country.

Circular of the NKVD of the USSR No. 171 of July 17, 1941 ordered the people's commissars of internal affairs of the republics and the heads of the NKVD departments of the territories and regions the following procedure for documenting citizens arriving without passports in the rear in connection with military events: in case of loss of all documents, conduct a thorough interrogation and double-check everything indications. After that, issue a certificate with personal data (from the words).

This certificate could not serve as an identity card for the owner, but made it easier for him to temporarily register and find a job.

This circular was canceled only in 1949.

From the first days of the war, all the activities of the militia, its services and divisions have changed and expanded significantly and have been adapted to wartime conditions.

One of the important means of strengthening the Soviet rear, protecting public order and combating crime was the passport system.

So, on August 9, 1941, by a decree of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR, the Regulations on the registration of citizens evacuated from the front line were approved. All evacuees who arrived at the place of resettlement, both in an organized and individual manner, were required to register their passports with the police within 24 hours.

Considering that, along with the evacuated population, criminal elements rushed into the interior of the country, who tried to hide from the authorities, the NKVD of the USSR in September 1941 established a mandatory personal appearance at the police station for citizens to obtain a residence permit.

The expansion of the tasks of passport apparatuses in the conditions of war brought to life new organizational forms for their implementation.

By order of the NKVD of the USSR of June 5, 1942, the positions of expert inspectors were introduced into the staff of the passport departments of the police departments, which were assigned:

a) research and giving conclusions on the revealed facts of forgery of passports coming from the police;

b) verification of passports of persons admitted to especially important state documents, as well as to work at enterprises and institutions of defense importance;

c) checking the storage of blank passports in the police, etc.

During the war years, the problem of searching for children who had lost contact with their parents acquired exceptional importance. On January 23, 1942, the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR adopted a resolution "On the arrangement of children left without parents." In accordance with this resolution, the Central Children's Address Desk and the corresponding subdivisions in the field were formed at the GUM NKVD of the USSR. The central information desk for children was located in the city of Bugu-Ruslan, Chkalov (now Orenburg) Region.

Initially, children's address tables were part of the departments and services of combat training of the police, and in 1944, by order of the NKVD of the USSR, they were transferred to the passport offices.

By June 1, 1942, 41,107 applications for the search for children were sent to the address children's tables of the country, while the whereabouts of 13,414 children or 32.6% of the total number of those wanted were located.

In total, more than twenty thousand children were found during the war years.

A lot of work has been done to establish the place of residence of the evacuated citizens.

In March 1942, the Central Information Bureau was established at the passport department of the GUM NKVD of the USSR.

Similar bureaus were created at the passport departments of the police departments of the republics, territories and regions.

Every day, the Central Information Bureau received 10-11 thousand applications to establish the place of residence of the evacuees. The employees of this bureau identified over two million wanted people.

Using the materials of registration of passports (completed address sheets), cluster address bureaus of cities also helped the population of the country in establishing the place of residence of their relatives and friends.

In the post-war years, passport work was carried out on a large scale. Employees of passport apparatuses established records of the population of cities and workers' settlements, issued returning citizens a large number of various kinds of certificates and answers to inquiries about missing or lost contact with relatives.

The Decree of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR of October 4, 1945 "On Passportization of the Population" served as the legal basis for recording the post-war population. It was aimed at determining its total number throughout the country, establishing the ratio of the rural and urban population ...

Reliable data on the size, composition and distribution of the population served as the basis for state administration and planning for economic and social development.

In 1952, the Passport and Registration Department (PRO) was organized, its structure and staff were approved. And on October 21, 1953, a new Regulation on passports was approved by the Decree of the Council of Ministers of the USSR.

The regulation established a single sample passport for the USSR with the text in Russian and the language of the corresponding union or autonomous republic.

Instead of the five-year passports issued earlier in most cases, unlimited, ten-year, five-year and short-term passports were established.

In 1955, the Regulations on the Passport and Registration Department were put into effect. This department had the following functions:

a) organization and management of all activities for the implementation of the passport system;

b) issuance and exchange of passports;

c) registration and discharge of the population;

d) conducting address and reference work;

e) identification of criminals wanted by operational and judicial-investigative bodies;

f) identification and removal from the area with a special passport regime of persons subject to passport restrictions;

g) issuance of permits to citizens to enter the restricted border zone;

i) registration of acts of civil status (births, deaths, marriages, divorces, adoptions, etc.).

The Passport and Registration Department, in addition, provided practical assistance to passport machines in the field, sending their employees there, developed and presented to the GUM management draft orders and other guidance documents on the implementation of the passport system and registration of acts of civil status; provided the police with blank passports, civil registration certificates, passes, etc.; kept records of wanted persons and took measures on applications and complaints of citizens received by the department; resolved staffing issues.

In order to intensify address and reference work, to raise its level, instead of cluster address bureaus, most police departments created single republican, regional, and regional address bureaus.

On July 19, 1959, the Council of Ministers approved the Regulations for Entry into the USSR and Exit Abroad. This Regulation was supplemented by a list of persons who were issued diplomatic and service passports, and were also allowed to enter and exit not only with foreign passports, but also with documents replacing them (certificates and internal passports).

In the subsequent period, for foreign trips to friendly countries on official and private matters, special certificates were introduced (series "AB" and "NZh"), visa-free trips were made on internal USSR passports with a special insert.

In 1959, the Central Committee of the CPSU and the Council of Ministers of the USSR adopted the Resolution "On the participation of workers in the protection of public order in the country." At that time, in our country, the tasks of strengthening organizational and ideological work among the population to strengthen socialist law and order, to prevent and suppress crimes and violations of public order came to the fore.

After the adoption of the Decree, specialized groups and freelancers appeared to maintain the passport regime in large settlements and cities of the USSR. House, street and quarter committees and the assets united by them, which, as a rule, included employees of house managements of the given territory, provided great assistance to the passport apparatuses.

An important step aimed at improving the activities of the militia was the approval of the Council of Ministers of the USSR of August 17, 1962 of the new Regulations on the Soviet militia.

The Regulations enshrined the principles of the Soviet passport system, defined specific tasks for its implementation.

The Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of April 8, 1968 "On the Basic Rights and Duties of Rural and Settlement Councils of Workers' Deputies" (announced by Order of the USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs No. 1258-196Eg) introduced new rules for registration and discharge of citizens in rural areas.

The internal affairs bodies retained the function of registration in regional centers and settlements in those areas where there are full-time employees of passport machines, as well as in settlements assigned to the border zone.

On September 22, 1970, the Council of Ministers of the USSR approved the new Regulations on Entry into the USSR and Exit from the USSR, which were significantly amended and supplemented.

For the first time in the legislative practice of the country, the grounds for refusing citizens to issue permission to travel abroad on private matters were determined.

The Central Committee of the CPSU and the Council of Ministers of the USSR in August 1974 considered the issue "On measures to further improve the passport system in the USSR", and on August 28, 1974 the Council of Ministers of the USSR approved a new Regulation "On the passport system in the USSR".

This Regulation established a procedure that is uniform for the entire population of the country, providing for the obligation to have a passport for all citizens of the USSR who have reached the age of sixteen, regardless of their place of residence (city or village).

The introduction of universal passportization has become the main duty of employees of all passport offices.

The validity of the new passport was not limited to any period. In order to take into account the external changes in the facial features of the passport holder associated with age, three photographs are to be pasted in succession:

The first - upon receipt of a passport, who has reached the age of 16;
The second - upon reaching 25 years;
The third - upon reaching the age of 45.

In the new passport, the number of columns containing information about the identity of the citizen and mandatory marks has been reduced.

Information about the social status is generally excluded from the passport, since in the process of life the social status is constantly changing.

Information about hiring and dismissal is not recorded in the passport, since there is a work book.

The new Regulation was put into effect (with the exception of the issuance of the passports themselves) from July 1, 1975.

Within six years (until December 31, 1981), millions of urban and rural residents had to replace and issue passports.

A large complex of organizational and practical measures for modern passportization of the population was carried out in the internal affairs bodies.

In the 1970s and 1980s, the participation of the USSR in the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSU-OSCE) and the beginning of the restructuring process had a significant impact on the formation and active passport and visa service.

After the signing of the Final Act of the CSCE in Helsinki in 1975, the service implemented a suspension of the Council of Ministers, obliging the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the USSR Ministry of Foreign Affairs to liberalize the practice of considering citizens' applications for exit and entry.

Previously, our legal acts and instructions governing the work of the passport service were drawn up for decades without taking into account international obligations. During the nineties, our country has been bringing its national legislation in full compliance with international obligations ...

Taking into account the results of the Vienna meeting of the CSCE in 1986-1989. further changes were made in the legislation and liberalization of the rules regarding the procedure for exit and entry, the rules for the stay of foreign citizens. In particular, the current regulation on entry into the USSR and exit from the USSR was supplemented by a decision of the Government with an open section on the procedure for considering applications for exit from the USSR and entry into the USSR on private matters. Since 1987, all existing restrictions on leaving the country for all countries of the world, including for permanent residence, have been practically abolished, with the exception of cases related to the security of the state.

The Vienna Concluding Document (January 19, 1989) speaks in detail (unlike the Helsinki Final Act of 1975) about civil and political rights, including religious freedoms, freedom of movement, the right to defense in court, etc. (The final document of the Vienna meeting of representatives of the participating states of the conference on security and cooperation in Europe. M., 1989, pp. 12-15).

The most difficult problem for Russia is to implement the free movement of citizens and the choice of place of residence. Currently, in many countries there are no restrictions on this right. In exceptional cases, they can only be established by law.

In the USSR, since 1925, there was a procedure for registration, which is not found in other countries.

However, it is not so easy to refuse it, because it is a social problem that is tightly intertwined with economic problems. At the same time, its decision is of great political importance.

In the process of building a rule of law state, the task of creating guarantees for the legal and social protection of a person was sharply outlined.

On September 5, 1991, the Declaration of Human Rights and Freedoms was adopted at the Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR. Article 21 of the Declaration states: “Everyone has the right to free movement within the country, the choice of residence and place of stay. Restrictions on this right may only be established by law.”

On December 22, 1991, the Decree of the Supreme Council of the RSFSR approved the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen, where Article 12 enshrines the rights of citizens to free movement and choice of residence.

These rights are reflected in the Law of the Russian Federation of June 25, 1993 "On the right of citizens of the Russian Federation to freedom of movement, choice of place of stay and residence within the Russian Federation."

In the Constitution of the Russian Federation (adopted by a popular vote on December 12, 1993), Article 27 states: everyone who is legally located on the territory of the Russian Federation has the right to move freely, choose a place of stay and residence.

Everyone can freely travel outside the Russian Federation. A citizen of the Russian Federation can freely return to the Russian Federation.

With the adoption in 1991 of the Law of the Russian Federation "On Citizenship of the Russian Federation", the passport and visa service was also responsible for resolving issues of citizenship.

According to the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of February 15, 1993 No. 124, the departments (departments) of visas, registration and passport work, as well as passport offices (passport offices) and departments (groups) of visas and police registration were reorganized into the passport and visa service of the internal affairs bodies Russian Federation, both in the center and in the field.

The UPVS (OPVS) and their subdivisions are entrusted with the functions of issuing passports, passes to enter the border zone, registering citizens, address and reference work, registering foreign citizens and stateless persons (staying on the territory of Russia), issuing them documents for the right to reside ; registration of documents and permits for entry into the Russian Federation and travel abroad, enforcement of legislation on citizenship issues.

The Passport and Visa Service, using its capabilities, takes an active part in the fight against crime, law enforcement and crime prevention.

In addition, in the part related to its competence, it implements legislative acts in the field of ensuring human rights and freedoms.

In order to create the necessary conditions for ensuring the constitutional rights and freedoms of citizens of the Russian Federation until the adoption of the relevant federal law on the main document proving the identity of a citizen of the Russian Federation, Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of March 13, 1997 No. 232 put into effect the passport of a citizen of the Russian Federation. In pursuance of this Decree, the Government of the Russian Federation on July 8, 1997 (No. 828) approved the Regulations on the passport of a citizen of the Russian Federation, a sample form and description of a passport of a citizen of the Russian Federation. In the same Government Decree, the Ministry of Internal Affairs was instructed to:

b) issue passports as a matter of priority to citizens who have reached the age of 14-16, military personnel, as well as other citizens in cases determined by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation;

c) by December 31, 2003, carry out a phased replacement of the passport of a citizen of the USSR with a passport of a citizen of the Russian Federation.

The internal affairs bodies are currently carrying out a large set of organizational and practical measures to implement the Decree of the President of March 13, 1997 and the Government Decree of July 8, 1997.

By order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia dated October 7, 2003 No. 776, the Passport and Visa Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia was transformed into the Main Passport and Visa Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, and the Center for Passport and Visa Information into the Center for Passport and Visa Information Resources of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, the Center for Citizens' Appeals on Passport and Visa Issues Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia and the Center for issuing invitations to foreign citizens of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia.

In accordance with paragraph 13 of the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of 09.03.2004 No. 314, the FMS of Russia was formed, which was transferred to law enforcement functions, functions of control and supervision and the functions of providing public services in the field of migration of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia
http://www.fms.gov.ru/about/history/details/38013/5/

“I take out a duplicate of a priceless cargo from wide trousers.
Read, envy, I am a citizen of the Soviet Union!”

A small note for those who speculate on the topic of collective farmers without passports - they all had passports, but they weren’t given them on purpose, wanting “enslavement”. We have repeatedly considered the issue of freedom of movement for collective farmers*. One more touch to the passport system of the Soviet state for your attention.

***
An identity document and announcing the place of permanent registration, our compatriots regularly take out of their wide trousers. But the attitude towards the passport system was and remains ambiguous, despite the fact that the decision to introduce a unified passport system in the Soviet Union and mandatory registration was made by the Central Executive Committee and the Council of People's Commissars on December 27, 1932. Some consider this system a guarantee of order in the country, while others consider it a barrier that restricts the freedom of movement of a citizen.

Thus, at one time perestroika historians, journalists and human rights activists called this decision of the Soviet government anti-democratic and inhumane. Like, this is a new enslavement of peasants in collective farms, binding the urban population to the main place of residence, restricting entry into capital cities. In fairness, it must be said that these "fighters for the truth" and other decisions and actions of the Soviet government have always seen only in black.

Let's start with the fact that until that time in our country there was no single internal passport system at all, passports before the revolution were foreign, and were also required for living in the capitals, St. Petersburg and Moscow, and in the border areas.

During the First World War, almost all European countries acquired internal passports. For 15 years, the Soviet government gathered its strength to introduce passports. The chaos of the first post-war years, the virtual absence of people traveling abroad did not make this problem a top priority.

The decree of 1932 very logically explained why this system was being introduced. First of all, they talked about improving the accounting of the population of cities, workers' settlements and new buildings and unloading these places from people not connected with production, as well as clearing these places from hiding kulak and criminal elements.
It is foolish to condemn the Bolsheviks for wanting to prevent an uncontrolled flow of migration; one can also criticize the pre-revolutionary European passport system, which had the same tasks. The Soviet government did not invent anything "inhumane".

It must also be remembered that the introduction of passports in rural areas was not considered at all by the decree of 1932. No passports - no migration to the city.

At the same time, the new government, while limiting simple relocation to the city, did not prevent young villagers from entering city universities and technical schools, and making a military career. If you want to study or become an officer, you apply to the collective farm board, get a passport - and go ahead, towards your dream ...

It is important to note that there were no special punitive measures for those who “illegally” left the village. In the post-war years, the outflow of rural youth to the city especially intensified, but the official date for issuing passports to the rural population was 1974.
Continuing the theme of humanity and inhumanity, we can turn to the processes that have swept Europe in recent years. There is a choice: rigidity of registration or uncontrolled migration? Punishment for violation of the passport regime or arbitrariness of a migrant free from all conventions? Law and order in the city or areas where law enforcement officers do not even go? Choose…

They began to appear in the Time of Troubles in the form of "traveling letters", introduced mainly for police purposes. The final passport system took shape only in the era of the reign of Peter I.

In 1721, Peter I introduced mandatory passports for peasants temporarily leaving their permanent residence. Passports appeared at the beginning of the 19th century. By the end of the 19th century, passports acquired an appearance close to modern, bookish, indicating origin, class, religion, and with a registration mark.

After the October Revolution of 1917, passports within the country were abolished as one of the manifestations of tsarist backwardness and despotism, and the passport system was abolished.

Any officially issued document was recognized as an identity card - from a certificate from the executive committee to a trade union card.

By the law of January 24, 1922, all citizens of the Russian Federation were granted the right to free movement throughout the entire territory of the RSFSR. The right of free movement and settlement was also confirmed in the Civil Code of the RSFSR (Article 5). Article 1 of the Decree of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee and the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR dated July 20, 1923 "On Identity Cards" forbade requiring citizens of the RSFSR to present passports and other residence permits that hinder their right to move and settle on the territory of the RSFSR. All these documents, as well as work books, were annulled. Citizens, if necessary, could obtain an identity card, but this was their right, but not an obligation.

The tightening of the political regime in the late 1920s and early 1930s led to the desire of the authorities to strengthen control over the movement of the population, which led to the restoration of the passport system.

On December 27, 1932, in Moscow, Chairman of the USSR Central Executive Committee Mikhail Kalinin, Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars (SNK) of the USSR Vyacheslav Molotov and Secretary of the Central Executive Committee of the USSR Avel Yenukidze signed Resolution No. 57/1917 "On the establishment of a unified passport system for the USSR and the mandatory registration of passports."

The following information was indicated in the passports of the 1932 model: first name, patronymic, last name, date and place of birth, nationality, social status, permanent residence and place of work, compulsory military service and documents on the basis of which a passport was issued.

Also on December 27, 1932, a decree was issued "On the formation of the Main Directorate of the Workers' and Peasants' Militia under the OGPU of the USSR." This body was created for the general management of the work of the Workers' and Peasants' Militia (RKM) of the Union republics, as well as for the introduction of a unified passport system throughout the Soviet Union.

In the regional and city departments of the RCM, passport departments were formed, and in the police departments - passport offices. The address and reference bureaus were also reorganized.

The heads of the city and district police departments were responsible for the implementation of the passport system and for the state of passport work.

In the 1960s, Nikita Khrushchev gave passports to peasants. On August 28, 1974, the USSR Council of Ministers approved the Regulations on the passport system: the passport became indefinite. Passportization extended to the entire population of the country, except for military personnel. The columns of the passport remained the same, with the exception of the social status.

In order to take into account the external changes in the facial features of the passport holder associated with age, three photographs were pasted in succession:

- The first - upon receipt of a passport, who has reached the age of 16;

- The second - upon reaching the age of 25;

- The third - upon reaching the age of 45.

On March 13, 1997, by decree of the President of the Russian Federation, a passport of a citizen of the Russian Federation was put into effect, which all citizens of the Russian Federation who have reached the age of fourteen are required to have.

From 1997 to 2003, Russia carried out a general exchange of Soviet passports of the 1974 model for Russian ones.

Validity period of the passport of a citizen of the Russian Federation:

- from 14 years old - until reaching the age of 20;

- from 20 years old - up to the age of 45;

- from 45 years - indefinitely.

In the Russian passport there is no column "nationality", which was in the passport of a citizen of the USSR. Passports are made and issued according to a single model for the whole country in Russian. At the same time, the republics that are part of the Russian Federation may produce inserts for the passport with the text in the state languages of these republics.

The material was prepared on the basis of information from open sources

The first rudiments of the passport system in Russia began to appear in the Time of Troubles in the form of "travel letters", introduced mainly for police purposes. The passport system finally took shape only in the era of the reign of Peter I. Persons who did not have a passport or a “traveling letter” were recognized as “unkind people” or even “outright thieves”. The passport system limited the movement of the population, since no one could change their place of residence without the permission of the relevant authorities.

After the October Revolution, passports within the country were abolished as one of the manifestations of the political backwardness and despotism of the tsarist government. Law of January 24, 1922All citizens of the Russian Federation were granted the right to free movement throughout the territory of the RSFSR. The right of free movement and settlement was also confirmed in the Civil Code of the RSFSR (Article 5). And Article 1 of the Decree of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee and the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR of July 20, 1923 “On Identity Cards” forbade requiring citizens of the RSFSR to present passports and other residence permits that hinder their right to move and settle on the territory of the RSFSR. All these documents, as well as work books, were annulled. Citizens, if necessary, could obtain an identity card, but this was their right, but not an obligation.

The tightening of the political regime in the late 20's - early 30's. led to the desire of the authorities to strengthen control over the movement of the population, which led to the restoration of the passport system.

On December 27, 1932, in Moscow, the Chairman of the Central Executive Committee of the USSR M.I. Kalinin, the Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR V.M. Molotov and the Secretary of the Central Executive Committee of the USSR A.S. SSR and obligatory registration of passports. Simultaneously with the decision of the Central Executive Committee and the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR, the Main Directorate of the Workers' and Peasants' Militia under the OGPU of the USSR was formed, which was entrusted with the functions of introducing a unified passport system throughout the Soviet Union, registration of passports and for direct management of these works.

The regulation on passports established that "all citizens of the USSR aged 16 and over, permanently residing in cities, workers' settlements, working in transport, in state farms and in new buildings, are required to have passports." Now the entire territory of the country and its population were divided into two unequal parts: the one where the passport system was introduced, and the one where it did not exist. In passportized areas, the passport was the only document "identifying the owner." All previous certificates that previously served as a residence permit were cancelled.

Mandatory registration of passports with the police was introduced "no later than 24 hours upon arrival at a new place of residence." An extract also became obligatory - for everyone who left "outside the boundaries of this locality completely or for a period of more than two months"; for everyone leaving their former place of residence, exchanging passports; prisoners; arrested, held in custody for more than two months. Violation of the order of the passport system could henceforth lead to administrative and even criminal liability.

Lit .: Lyubarsky K. Passport system and registration system in Russia // Ros. bul. on human rights. 1994. Issue. 2. S. 14-24; Popov V. Passport system of Soviet serfdom // Novy Mir. 1996. No. 6; The same [Electronic resource]. URL:http://magazines.russ.ru/novyi_mi/1996/6/popov.html; 70th anniversary of the Soviet passport [Electronic resource] // Demoscope Weekly. 2002. 16-31 Dec. (No. 93/94). URL:http://www.demoscope.ru/weekly/2002/093/arxiv01.php; FMS of Russia: history of creation [Electronic resource] // Federal Migration Service. 2013 URL:http://www.fms.gov.ru/about/history/.

The origin of the first links of accounting and documenting the population in Russia dates back to 945. And for the first time, the requirement of an identity card was legislatively fixed in the Council Code of 1649: “And if someone goes to another State without a letter of passage, arbitrariness for treason or some other bad thing, then look for him hard and execute him with death.” “And if it is announced in the investigation that someone who traveled to another State without a travel document, not for bad, but for trade, and punish him for that - beat him with a whip, so that it would be disrespectful to do so.”

May 28, 1717

It turns out that the system for issuing foreign passports was thought out and developed in our country almost 350 years ago. As for internal passports, their need was not felt for almost a whole century.

Under Peter I, the state's strict control over the movement of the population led to the creation of a passport system, i.e. as soon as they cut through the port window to Europe, they introduced passports in the meaning of documents for the right to pass through the gate, outpost, port (port).

Since 1719, by decree of Peter I, in connection with the introduction of recruitment duty and poll tax, the so-called "traveling letters" became mandatory, which since the beginning of the 17th century. used for domestic travel.

In 1724, in order to prevent peasants from evading the poll tax, special rules were established for them when they were absent from their place of residence (in fact, such special rules were in effect for peasants in Russia until the mid-1970s). It turned out to be a very revealing curiosity: the first passports in Russia were issued to the most disenfranchised members of society - serfs. In 1724, the tsar's "Poster on Poll and Protchem Collection" came out, which ordered everyone who wanted to leave their native village to work to receive a "feeding letter". It is no coincidence that this decree was issued at the very end of the reign of Peter I: the great reforms that affected society to the very bottom led to a sharp increase in mobility - the construction of factories, the growth of domestic trade required workers.

The passport system was supposed to ensure order and tranquility in the state, guarantee control over the payment of taxes, the fulfillment of military duty and, above all, over the movement of the population. Along with the police and tax functions, the passport from 1763 until the end of the 19th century. also had fiscal significance, i.e. was a means of collecting passport fees.

From the end of the 19th century Until 1917, the passport system in Russia was regulated by the law of 1897, according to which a passport was not required at the place of permanent residence. However, there were exceptions: for example, it was required to have passports in the capitals and border towns, in a number of areas workers of factories and plants were required to have passports. It was not necessary to have a passport when absent from the place of permanent residence within the county and beyond for no more than 50 miles and no more than 6 months, as well as for persons employed in rural work. A wife was recorded in a man's passport, and married women could receive separate passports only with the consent of their husbands. Unseparated members of peasant families, including adults, were issued a passport only with the consent of the owner of the peasant household.

As for the situation with foreign passports before 1917, the police kept it under constant control. So, in the first half of the XIX century. it was difficult to go abroad. Nevertheless, the nobles were allowed to leave for several years, representatives of other classes - for shorter periods. Foreign passports were expensive. An announcement about each person leaving was published three times in official newspapers, passports were issued only to those who had no "claims" from private individuals and official bodies.

Passport book 1902

After the victory of the Soviet power, the passport system was abolished, but the first attempt to restore it was soon made. In June 1919, mandatory "work books" were introduced, which, without being called that, were in fact passports. Metrics and various "mandates" were also used as identification documents:

The Far Eastern Republic (1920-1922) issued its own passports. For example, this passport is issued for only one year:

An identity card issued in Moscow in 1925, a place for a photograph is already provided, but it is not yet mandatory, which is expressly stated:

The certificate is valid for only three years:

as can be seen from the number of stamps and records in those days, personal documents were treated more simply. Here is the "registration certificate" at the place of residence and the mark "sent to work", about retraining, etc.:

Passport issued in 1941, valid for 5 years

A real uniform passport system was introduced in the USSR by a resolution of the Central Executive Committee and the Council of People's Commissars on December 27, 1932, since industrialization required administrative accounting, control and regulation of the movement of the country's population from rural to industrial areas and back (village residents did not have passports !). In addition, the introduction of the passport system was directly conditioned by the intensification of the class struggle, the need to protect large industrial and political centers, including socialist new buildings, from criminal elements. It should be noted that the famous "Poems about the Soviet Passport" by V. Mayakovsky, written in 1929, are dedicated to the international passport and have nothing to do with the passport system established in the early 1930s.

Photocards appeared in passports, more precisely, a place was provided for them, but in reality, photographs were pasted only if technically possible.

Passport 1940s pay attention to the entry in the column "social status" at the top right - "Slave":

Since that time, all citizens who have reached the age of 16 and permanently reside in cities, workers' settlements, urban-type settlements, new buildings, state farms, locations of machine and tractor stations (MTS), in certain areas of the Leningrad Region, throughout the Moscow area and other specially designated areas. Passports were issued with a mandatory registration at the place of residence (when changing the place of residence, one had to obtain a temporary residence permit within 24 hours). In addition to registration, the social status of a citizen and his place of work were recorded in passports.

An indefinite passport of 1947 issued by L.I. Brezhnev:

Passport 1950s in the column of social status - "dependent" there was such an official term:

Here it should be specially noted that initially "prescribe", i.e. to register, it was the passport itself that had to be registered, and only then did the people's everyday sense of justice connect the concept of propiska exclusively with the personality of a person, although the "propiska" as before was carried out in the passport and, according to the law, belonged exclusively to this document, and the primary right to use housing was established by another document - warrant.

Military personnel did not receive passports (for them, these functions were performed at different times by Red Army books, military tickets, identity cards), as well as collective farmers, who were registered according to settled lists (for them, the functions of a passport were performed by one-time certificates signed by the chairman of the village council, collective farm, indicating the reasons and directions of movement - almost an exact copy of the ancient road charter). There were also numerous categories of "disenfranchised": exiled and "unreliable" and, as they said then, "disenfranchised" people. For various reasons, many were denied registration in "regime" and border towns.

An example of a certificate from the village council - "collective farmer's passport" 1944

Collective farmers began to slowly receive passports only during the "thaw", in the late 1950s. This process was completed only after the approval of the new "Regulations on the Passport" in 1972. At the same time, passports, whose alphanumeric codes meant that a person was in camps or was in captivity, in occupation, also became a thing of the past. Thus, in the mid-1970s, there was a complete equalization of the passport rights of all residents of the country. It was then that everyone, without exception, was allowed to have exactly the same passports.

During the period 1973-75. For the first time, passports were issued to all citizens of the country.

From 1997 to 2003, Russia carried out a general exchange of Soviet passports of the 1974 model for new, Russian ones. The passport is the main identity document of a citizen on the territory of the Russian Federation, and is issued by the internal affairs authorities at the place of residence. Today, all citizens of Russia are required to have passports from the age of 14, when a citizen reaches 20 and 45 years old, the passport must be replaced. (The previous, Soviet, passport, as already mentioned, was issued at the age of 16 and was indefinite: new photographs of the passport holder were pasted into it when they reached 25 and 45 years old). Information about the identity of a citizen is entered in the passport: last name, first name, patronymic, gender, date and place of birth; marks are made on registration at the place of residence, attitude to military service, on registration and divorce, on children, on the issuance of a foreign passport (general civil, diplomatic, service or sailor's passport), as well as on blood type and Rh factor (optional) . It should be noted that in the Russian passport there is no column "nationality", which was in the passport of a citizen of the USSR. Passports are made and issued according to a single model for the whole country in Russian. At the same time, the republics that are part of the Russian Federation may produce inserts for the passport with the text in the state languages of these republics.