A man without passport or citizenship
In Rostov Oblast GRU specnaz sergeant Boris Kachalkin spends the last day of his leave with family and gets ready to return to duty. He signed the contract with the defense ministry a few years ago, and did it without being a citizen of Russia. Kachalkin does not have a passport to this day. NTV correspondent Svyatoslav Gordin found out the details.
Russian Army Sergeant Boris Kachalkin returns home. They gave him a little break to see his wife and young daughter waiting at home. Now he is a contractor, served in Chechnya. Specnaz unit of the Main Intelligence Command (GRU) - a record many men would be, rightfully, proud of.
Boris is not officially considered even the father of his daughter. The military man does not even have Russian citizenship. In civilian life he is a man without a passport, therefore, cannot go to school/university or work. 17 years ago, Kachalkin's parents moved to Novocherkassk from Azerbaijan. Boris's father was a military man himself, all his family eventually became Russian citizens. But not Boris.
Boris Kachalkin: "I've been here for 17 years now. I am a normal citizen of Russia, only without a passport."
To be or not be a soldier? Boris did not ahve a difficult decision. He graduated from high school and was put on the military record and was drafted into the army. In Novocherkassk enlistment office, they do not remember why the summons was sent to a recruit without Russian citizenship. They say, the shelf life of military case of Boris Kachalkin has already ended [meaning it has been already destroyed].
Natalia Ahreeva, Senior Assistant Prosecutor [like ADA] for Rostov Oblast: "In accordance with current legislation, conscription without identity documents is impossible."
Now, Boris is under contract, but is well aware that sooner or later it will end. He could, after all, be wounded, be left permanently disabled. And then what?
Boris Kachalkin: "I have a certificate as a veteran of armed conflict. How many years have passed, I can not even formalize a pension. Small money, 1700 rubles, but nonetheless."
Ludmila Gudkova, Boris Kachalkin's wife: "We can not get on the waiting list for an apartment, because he a soldier or a sign our marriage, or record our daughter to his name. I am still considered a single mother."
Boris says that once he had been promised: serve three years - will become a Russian citizen. Then, when he had served, he was told that the service contract does not count. Where was the failure, why Kachalkin never received citizenship, no one seems to be able to say.
Correspondence with officials, the statements and denials. In the regional administration of the Federal Migration Service, they seem surprised at the noise around this story. They say Boris Kachalkin long needed to contact them for his citizenship.
Denis Kilevnik, Deputy Head of Federal Migration Service in Rostov Oblast: "It is much easier to do everything in Rostov Oblast. It takes just a few months. But for this, the citizen should simply contact us, and not the media."
There are still options. The army leadership could ask for Sergeant Kachalkin, or the Governor may request the President personally. If Boris Kachalkin was currently not serving our country, without a passport he would not even be allowed on the train. But, tomorrow, with his military ID, he will take a railway ticket and return to his unit.
