{{Short description|Passport issued to Soviet citizens}} {{Infobox identity document | document_name = USSR passport | image = Soviet Passport Cover.jpg | image_caption = The front cover of a Soviet passport, 1991 series | image2 = Soviet Union International Passport 1991 Data Page.jpg | image_caption2 = Bio page of a Soviet passport, 1991 series | using_jurisdiction = {{flagdeco|Soviet Union}} USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs | valid_jurisdictions = {{flag|Russian Federation}}<ref name="vsrf">[https://www.vsrf.ru/files/12463/ Определение Судебной коллегии по гражданским делам Верховного Суда РФ от 30 мая 2006 г. N 81-В06-5]</ref> | document_type = Passport | purpose = Identification, travel | eligibility = USSR citizenship }} The '''Soviet passport''' ({{langx|ru|Паспорт СССР}}) was an identity document and passport issued pursuant to the laws of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) for citizens of the USSR.
After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, Soviet passports continued to be issued until 2000 in the Russian Federation, and in other post-Soviet states, until they were replaced with national passports gradually by 2001.<ref name="history">{{Cite web |url=http://www.passport-collector.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/USSR_Russian-passports.pdf |title=Russian passport history (PDF) |access-date=2017-04-04 |archive-date=2017-04-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170404132012/http://www.passport-collector.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/USSR_Russian-passports.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> All Soviet passports remain valid as an identity document in the Russian Federation to this date.<ref name="vsrf"/>
Soviet passports remained valid in Estonia until 1997,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.kommersant.ru/doc/177707|title=В Эстонии паспорт СССР больше не действует|lang=ru|website=Коммерсантъ|date=1997-05-16|accessdate=2019-09-14|archive-date=2020-08-05|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200805111339/https://www.kommersant.ru/doc/177707}}</ref> in Kazakhstan until 1999,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://defacto.kz/content/pasport-sssr-obraztsa-1974-goda|title=Паспорт СССР образца 1974 года|quote=Замена паспортов старого образца 1974 года на паспорта и удостоверения личности нового образца граждан РК была завершена еще 1 марта 1999 года. Поэтому паспорта СССР образца 1974 года недействительны для казахстанских граждан с этой даты|lang=ru|website=DeFacto.kz|publisher=De Facto|date=2008-08-18|accessdate=2019-09-14|archive-date=2019-09-04|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190904063800/http://defacto.kz/content/pasport-sssr-obraztsa-1974-goda}}</ref> in Latvia until 2000,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.kommersant.ru/doc/144372|title=В Латвии отменили советские паспорта|lang=ru|website=Коммерсантъ|date=2000-04-04|accessdate=2019-09-14|archive-date=2020-08-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200810075955/https://www.kommersant.ru/doc/144372}}</ref> in Tajikistan and Ukraine until 2002,<ref>{{Cite web |author=Виктория Ли |url=https://refugee.ru/news/%D1%8F-%D0%BD%D0%B8%D1%87%D0%B5%D0%B9-%D0%B3%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%B6%D0%B4%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%BD/ |title=«Я ничей гражданин» |publisher=Сайт проекта «Гражданское содействие» |website=refugee.ru |date=2021-02-08 |access-date=2023-10-24 |archive-date=2023-04-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230423123005/https://refugee.ru/news/%D1%8F-%D0%BD%D0%B8%D1%87%D0%B5%D0%B9-%D0%B3%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%B6%D0%B4%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%BD/ }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://korrespondent.net/ukraine/politics/50437-pasporta-sovetskogo-obrazca-dejstvitelny-do-oseni|title=Паспорта советского образца действительны до осени|lang=ru|website=korrespondent.net|publisher=Корреспондент|date=2002-07-11|accessdate=2019-09-14|archive-date=2017-10-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171014044632/http://korrespondent.net/ukraine/politics/50437-pasporta-sovetskogo-obrazca-dejstvitelny-do-oseni}}</ref> in Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan until 2003,<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.ng.ru/cis/2019-07-07/5_7616_turkmenistan.html |title=Русских в Туркмении легализуют |publisher=Независимая газета |website=ng.ru |date=2019-07-07 |access-date=2021-09-04 |archive-date=2021-09-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210904214817/https://www.ng.ru/cis/2019-07-07/5_7616_turkmenistan.html }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://refugee.ru/news/%D1%87%D0%B5%D0%BB%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%B5%D0%BA-%D0%BF%D1%83%D1%81%D1%82%D1%8B%D1%88%D0%BA%D0%B0/ |title=«Человек-пустышка» |publisher=Сайт проекта «Гражданское содействие» |website=refugee.ru |date=2021-01-14 |access-date=2021-09-04 |archive-date=2021-11-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211111211130/https://refugee.ru/news/%D1%87%D0%B5%D0%BB%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%B5%D0%BA-%D0%BF%D1%83%D1%81%D1%82%D1%8B%D1%88%D0%BA%D0%B0/ }}</ref> in Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, ''Abkhazia'' and ''South Ossetia'' until 2004,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://belzakon.net/Законодательство/Постановление_Совета_Министров_РБ/2002/84523|title=Постановление Совета министров Республики Беларусь от 29 октября 2002 года № 1492 «Об ограничении срока действия паспорта гражданина СССР образца 1974 года и паспорта гражданина Республики Беларусь образца 1993 года»|lang=ru|website=BelZakon.net|publisher=БелЗакон.net: законы Республики Беларусь|accessdate=2019-09-14}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://ria.ru/20040122/512125.html|title=Срок действия советских паспортов в Киргизии продлевается ещё на полгода|lang=ru|website=РИА Новости|date=2004-01-22|accessdate=2019-09-14}}</ref><ref name="exp2004">{{Cite web |date=2004-07-01 |title=Советский паспорт обернулся волчьим билетом |url=https://www.kommersant.ru/doc/486797 |access-date=2022-06-05 |website=www.kommersant.ru |language=ru}}</ref> in Armenia, ''Artsakh'' and Azerbaijan until 2005,<ref name="arm"/><ref name="aze">{{cite web|url=https://www.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/69311/|title=В Азербайджане истекает срок действия советских паспортов|lang=ru|website=Кавказский узел|date=2004-12-23|accessdate=2019-09-14|archive-date=2020-08-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200811164257/https://www.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/69311/}}</ref> in Georgia and Lithuania until 2006,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.trend.az/scaucasus/georgia/780848.html|title=С 15 июля по всей Грузии прекращается действие паспортов советского типа|lang=ru|website=Trend News Agency|date=2006-07-06|accessdate=2019-09-14|archive-date=2020-08-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200814031521/https://www.trend.az/scaucasus/georgia/780848.html}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.km.ru/glavnoe/2006/01/01/arkhiv/sovetskii-pasport-v-litve-bolshe-ne-deistvuet|title=Советский паспорт в Литве больше не действует|lang=ru|website=KM.RU|date=2006-01-01|accessdate=2019-09-14|archive-date=2020-08-04|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200804232709/https://www.km.ru/glavnoe/2006/01/01/arkhiv/sovetskii-pasport-v-litve-bolshe-ne-deistvuet}}</ref> in Transnistria until 2010,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Жители Приднестровья останутся гражданами СССР до 2010 года |url=https://lenta.ru/news/2005/07/16/passport/ |access-date=2023-03-08 |website=Lenta.RU |language=ru}}</ref> and in Moldova until 2014.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.tvc.ru/news/show/id/36884|title=С 1 сентября в Молдавии прекратят действовать советские паспорта|lang=ru|website=ТВЦ|date=2014-04-11|accessdate=2019-09-14|archive-date=2014-04-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140416054125/http://www.tvc.ru/news/show/id/36884}}</ref>
== History ==
The passport system of the Soviet Union underwent a number of transformations in the course of its history. In the late Soviet Union citizens of age sixteen or older had to have an internal passport. In addition, a passport for travel abroad ({{lang|ru|заграничный паспорт, загранпаспорт}}, {{lang|ru-Latn|zagranpasport}}, often confusingly translated as "foreign passport") was required for travel abroad. There were several types of abroad passport: an ordinary one, known simply as "USSR ''zagranpasport''", a civil service passport ({{lang|ru|служебный паспорт}}, {{lang|ru-Latn|sluzhebny pasport}}), a diplomatic passport, and a sailor's passport.
Internal passports were serviced by "passport offices" ({{lang|ru|паспортный стол}}, {{lang|ru-Latn|pasportny stol}}) of local offices of the MVDs of Soviet republics. Abroad passports were handled by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the corresponding Soviet republic.
Internal passports were used in the Soviet Union for identification of persons for various purposes. In particular, passports were used to control and monitor the place of residence by means of ''propiska''. Officially, ''propiska'' was introduced for statistical reasons: since in the planned economy of the Soviet Union the distribution of goods and services was centralized, the overall distribution of population was to be monitored. For example, a valid ''propiska'' was necessary to receive higher education or be employed.
The passports recorded the following information: surname, first name and patronymic, date and place of birth and ethnicity,<ref>In Russian, word {{lang|ru|национальность}}, {{lang|ru-Latn|natsional'nost'}} means ethnicity. This is not equivalent to the interpretation of "nationality" as "citizenship" as it is sometimes rendered in English and other languages. In Russian there is a separate word for "citizenship": {{lang|ru|граҗданство}}, {{lang|ru-Latn|grazhdanstvo}}.</ref> family status, propiska, and record of military service. Sometimes the passport also had special notes, for example blood group. As mentioned, the internal passports identified every bearer by ethnicity ({{lang|ru|национальность}}, {{lang|ru-Latn|natsional'nost'}}), e.g., Russian, Ukrainian, Uzbek, Estonian, Jew, etc. When an individual applied for a passport at age 16, they had to select the ethnicity of one of their parents.<ref>According to the ethnic demographer V. I. Kozlov, the existence of this so-called "passport nationality," which was largely determined by birth, may have tended to fix the subjective national or ethnic identities of Soviet citizens: V. I. Kozlov, in {{lang|ru|Динамика численности народов}} (Dynamics in the Number of Peoples) (Moscow: Nauka, 1969). However, there is a lot of evidence of shifting of subjective nationality, for example as it was reflected in the Soviet censuses, despite the existence of a passport nationality. See, for example, B. A. Anderson and B. D. Silver, "Estimating Russification of Ethnic Identity Among Non-Russians in the USSR," ''Demography'' 20 (November 1983): 461–489.</ref> All residents were required by law to record their address on the document, and to report any changes to a local office of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. For example, by the age of forty-five, a person had to have three photographs of themselves in the passport – to account for the effects of aging – taken at the age of sixteen (when it was issued), twenty-five and forty-five. At different stages of development of the Soviet passport system, they could also contain information on place of work, social status (marriage, children), and other supporting information needed for those agencies and organizations to which the Soviet citizens used to appeal.
The internal passports were written in the Russian language and the language of the republic where it was issued. Passports for travel abroad were written Russian and French.<ref name="history"/> Starting in 1991, French was replaced by English.<ref name="history"/>
<gallery class="center"> File:USSR passport 1974.jpg|Cover page of a 1974 Soviet Union passport File:USSR external passport 1929.jpg|USSR passport for travel abroad, year 1929 File:Паспорт СССР.jpg|Soviet passport, year 1974–1991 File:Разворот советского загранпаспорта, 1976.jpg|USSR passport for travel abroad, bio page 1976 File:1990 USSR Passport.png|USSR passport for travel abroad, year 1990 File:Soviet Service Passport Cover.jpg|USSR service passport issued in 1984 </gallery>
=== Passport for international travel 1991 series === thumb|300px|USSR passport for travel abroad, 1991 series
Each passport has a data page and a signature page. A data page has a visual zone and no machine-readable zone. The visual zone has a photograph of the passport holder, data about the passport, and data about the passport owner under the writing "СОЮЗ СОВЕТСКИХ СОЦИАЛИСТИЧЕСКИХ РЕСПУБЛИК" (UNION OF SOVIET SOCIALIST REPUBLICS):<ref name="history"/> * Photograph * Type of document ("P" for "passport") * Code of the issuing country (always 'SUN') * Passport number * Surname in Latin alphabet * Given name(s) in Latin alphabet * Nationality (usually 'СССР / URSS') * Date of birth (DD.MM.YYYY format) * Place of birth * Sex * Date of issue * Date of expiration * Authority
The page next to the data page - the signature page, contains under the emblem of the USSR, the writing "UNION OF SOVIET SOCIALIST REPUBLICS", and contains:<ref name="history"/> * Last name in Russian * First name in Russian * Patronymic in Russian * Signature of the holder
Notes on the last page of the passport: {{Blockquote|Гражданин СССР, прибывший за границу на постоянное жительство, обязан встать на учет в консульском учреждении СССР и сняться с учета при смене места жительства.}} ''translation: A citizen of the USSR who has arrived abroad for permanent residence is required to register with the consular office of the USSR and deregister when changing his place of residence.'' {{Blockquote|{{lang|ru|Паспорт этот является собственностью Союза Советских Социалистических Республик.}}<br />This passport is the property of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.}}
==Replacement passports== Soviet passports were eventually replaced by the following national passports in post-Soviet states between 1992 and 2005.<ref name="history"/> Below are the replacement passports with year of first issue.
=== Countries === <gallery widths="120" heights="120" class="center"> File:Russian Passport (External).svg|1997: {{flagicon|Russia}} Russian passport (including Internal passport of Russia)<ref name="history"/><ref>{{cite web |title=Russia: The propiska (registration) system and internal passports |url=https://webarchive.archive.unhcr.org/20230601001859/https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6ad8a3.html}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Background Note on the Replacement of USSR passports in the Russian Federation |url=https://www.refworld.org/reference/countryrep/unhcr/2003/en/30467}}</ref> File:Паспорт Армения.jpg| 1994: {{flagicon|Armenia}} Armenian passport<ref name="arm">{{cite web|url=https://armenpress.am/rus/news/542204/grazhdane-armenii-imeyushchie-pasporta-sovetskogo-obrazca.html|title=ГРАЖДАНЕ АРМЕНИИ, ИМЕЮЩИЕ ПАСПОРТА СОВЕТСКОГО ОБРАЗЦА, МОГУТ ПОЛУЧИТЬ НОВЫЕ ПАСПОРТА РЕСПУБЛИКИ АРМЕНИЯ ДО 25 НОЯБРЯ|lang=ru|website=armenpress.am|date=2005-10-25|accessdate=2021-04-29|archive-date=2021-04-29|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210429003407/https://armenpress.am/rus/news/542204/grazhdane-armenii-imeyushchie-pasporta-sovetskogo-obrazca.html}}</ref> Azerbaijan Passport.svg|1998: {{flagicon|Azerbaijan|1918}} Azerbaijani passport Belarus Passport.svg| 1996: {{flagicon|Belarus}} Belarusian passport<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.belta.by/incident/view/kak-poluchit-biometricheskie-dokumenty-v-belarusi-rasskazali-v-mvd-618159-2024/|title=Как получить биометрические документы в Беларуси, рассказали в МВД|lang=ru-RU|website=www.belta.by|date=2024-02-27|access-date=2024-03-12|archive-date=2024-03-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240312184556/https://www.belta.by/incident/view/kak-poluchit-biometricheskie-dokumenty-v-belarusi-rasskazali-v-mvd-618159-2024/|url-status=live}}</ref> File:Eesti pass 2021.jpg| 1996: {{flagicon|Estonia}} Estonian passport<ref>{{cite web |title=Council of the European Union - PRADO - EST-AO-01001 |url=https://www.consilium.europa.eu/prado/en/EST-AO-01001/index.html}}</ref> File:Georgian passport.jpg|1994: {{flagicon|Georgia|1990}} Georgian passport<ref>{{cite web |title=100 years of history of Georgian passports showed in new Arch of 26 May |url=https://agenda.ge/en/news/2018/1094#gsc.tab=0}}</ref> File:Kazakhstan Passport.svg| 1995: {{flagicon|Kazakhstan}} Kazakhstani passport<ref>{{cite web |title=Kazakhstan: Information on Kazakh passports; on when they were first issued, their colour, length of validity and whether the bearer's nationality is shown in the passport |url=https://webarchive.archive.unhcr.org/20230529053133/https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6aad388.html}}</ref> File:Kyrgyz Passport.svg|1994: {{flagicon|Kyrgyzstan}} Kyrgyzstani passport<ref>{{cite web |title=Kyrgyzstan: Passports and ID documents |url=https://www.landinfo.no/asset/2357/1/2357_1.pdf}}</ref> File:LR Pase.jpg|1992: {{flagicon|Latvia}} Latvian passport<ref>{{cite web |title=Council of the European Union - PRADO - LVA-AO-01001 |url=https://www.consilium.europa.eu/prado/en/LVA-AO-01001/index.html}}</ref> File:Lithuanian Passport.svg|1992: {{flagicon|Lithuania|1988}} Lithuanian passport<ref>{{cite web |title=Council of the European Union - PRADO - LTU-AO-01001 |url=https://www.consilium.europa.eu/prado/en/LTU-AO-01001/index.html}}</ref> File:Moldovan passport 2023.jpg|1995: {{flagicon|Moldova}} Moldovan passport<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.registru.md/news_2011/164207/ |title=Centrul Resurselor Informaţionale de Stat «Registru»<!-- Заголовок добавлен ботом --> |accessdate=2011-04-16 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714114643/http://registru.md/news_2011/164207/ |archivedate=2014-07-14}}</ref> File:P TJK NEW.jpg|1998: {{flagicon|Tajikistan}} Tajik passport<ref>{{cite web |title=Modernizing Tajikistan's Travel Documents and ID management Past, Present and Future - ICAO |url=https://www.icao.int/meetings/mrtd-tashkent-2014/documents/session3_3-manuchehr.pdf}}</ref> File:Turkmen Passport.svg|1996: {{flagicon|Turkmenistan|1992}} Turkmen passport<ref>{{cite web|url=https://base.spinform.ru/show_doc.fwx?rgn=21785|title=ПОСТАНОВЛЕНИЕ ПРЕЗИДЕНТА ТУРКМЕНИСТАНА от 25 октября 1996 года №2843|publisher=Законодательство стран СНГ|language=ru|accessdate=2023-06-19}}</ref> File:Uzbekistan passport.svg|1995: {{flagicon|Uzbekistan}} Uzbek passport<ref>{{cite web |title=Указ Президента Республики Узбекистан О ВВЕДЕНИИ В ДЕЙСТВИЕ «ПОЛОЖЕНИЯ О ПАСПОРТНОЙ СИСТЕМЕ В РЕСПУБЛИКЕ УЗБЕКИСТАН» 23.12.1994 |url=https://lex.uz/ru/docs/237406?ONDATE=23.12.1994%2000}}</ref> File:Ukrainian passport 2017.jpg|1994: {{flagicon|Ukraine|1992}} Ukrainian passport (including internal passport of Ukraine)<ref>{{cite web |title=УКАЗ ПРЕЗИДЕНТА УКРАЇНИ Про паспорт громадянина України для виїзду за кордон 28.10.1993 |url=https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/491/93#Text}}</ref> </gallery>
=== Disputed territories === <gallery widths="120" heights="120" class="center"> File:Abkhazian passport.jpg|''2006: {{flagicon|Abkhazia}} Abkhazian passport''<ref name="newcaucasus51">{{cite news|url=http://www.newcaucasus.com/index.php?newsid=51|script-title=ru:Паспортизация Абхазии – караван идет медленно|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208135745/http://www.newcaucasus.com/index.php?newsid=51|archive-date=8 December 2015|last=Melkosian|first=Ardavadz|date=28 October 2007|publisher=New Caucasus|language=ru|access-date=22 November 2009}}</ref> File:Karabakh passport.jpg|''2006-2024: {{flagicon|Artsakh}} Artsakh passport'' File:South Ossetian passport cover.jpg|''2006: {{flagicon|South Ossetia}} South Ossetian passport''<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.civil.ge/eng/article.php?id=13314 |title=''Tskhinvali Begins Issuing South Ossetian Passports'', civil.ge 15.08.2006. |access-date=2010-08-05 |archive-date=2016-09-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160913121129/http://www.civil.ge/eng/article.php?id=13314 |url-status=live }}</ref> File:Passport of Transnistria.jpg|''2001: {{flagicon|Transnistria}} Transnistrian passport''<ref>{{Cite web |title=Исполнилось 80 лет паспортной системе | Новости Приднестровья | Официальное информагентство Приднестровской Молдавской Республики |url=http://novostipmr.com/ru/news/12-12-27/ispolnilos-80-let-pasportnoy-sisteme |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://archive.today/20130208143252/http://novostipmr.com/ru/news/12-12-27/ispolnilos-80-let-pasportnoy-sisteme |archivedate=2013-02-08 |accessdate=2013-01-03}}</ref> </gallery>
==See also== *Passport system in the Soviet Union *Eastern Bloc emigration and defection *101st kilometre *Propiska
==Notes and references== {{reflist}}
==External links== * [http://magazines.russ.ru/novyi_mi/1996/6/popov.html V.Popov, Passport System of Soviet Serfage, "New World" ({{lang|ru|журнал «Новый Мир»}}), Issue 6, 1996] {{in lang|ru}} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20080515221911/http://www.fmsrf.ru/5.asp Federal Migration Service of the Russian Federation -- "Historical Information" covers several centuries about passport-policy in Russia and Soviet Union -- in Russian]
{{Passports}}
Category:Soviet internal politics Category:Foreign relations of the Soviet Union Soviet Union Category:Identity documents of the Soviet Union