Russian President Vladimir Putin promised citizens of the former Soviet Union to grant citizenship of Russia.

"I also think it necessary to revisit the issue of simplified procedure of granting Russian citizenship to those who had been citizen of the USSR, and are direct descendants of those born in the Soviet Union or even the Russian Empire.

He also said that "the role of compatriots permanently residing abroad requires a thorough rethinking. Many people want to be useful to their historic homeland and want to support it, but our missions abroad often overlook this attitude and have failed so far to fully refocus work in this important area.

"It should be noted that exactly the same methods of passportization was carried out by Russia in the occupied territories of Georgia - Abkhazia and the Tskhinvali region, and then, under the pretext of their protection, Russia carried out full occupation of these two regions. The Club of Experts believe that the purpose of the new simplified procedure will be repetition of the Georgian scenario in other former Soviet republics, if the latters are unwilling to join Putin's new Soviet Union.