Latvian MMA fighter Konstantin Glukhov in an interview with he spoke about the problems associated with obtaining a passport as a citizen of the Russian Federation.
Glukhov is known for his performances in kickboxing and MMA in the M-1, Pro FC and AMC Fight Nights promotions. Statistics of the 43-year-old mixed martial arts fighter: 35 wins, 17 losses. On December 13, Glukhov posted a video on his Telegram channel with a message about the difficulties in obtaining citizenship of the Russian Federation, mentioning that in institutions “no one knows anything, everyone is kicked out.” Glukhov’s post was reposted by several popular Telegram bloggers, after which, as the fighter himself said, representatives of the migration service contacted him.
— Why did you decide to change your citizenship from Latvian to Russian?
— It turned out that I was born in Riga, my parents moved there in Soviet times. Then my wife and I decided to move; for the first time we had a little money. We arrived in Russia at the end of February 2023, I had a one month Russian visa. Realizing this was going to end, we went to see what we could do.
We learned that there is a possibility of asylum in the Russian Federation. We applied for this document, first we received a certificate about it and only in the summer we received the status of having been granted asylum. A passport so purple that everyone looks at it in surprise. I thought about getting either a residence permit or citizenship, but in general I think: “Well, what kind of residence permit?” I have felt like a Russian citizen for a long time, because I am Russian, I live in Russia.” I have always said that Russians should live in Russia, it is their home. All. A German lives in Germany, a Chinese lives in China, a Russian lives in Russia.
— Is it difficult to live in Latvia with the surname Glukhov?
— Unfortunately, my last name is now Glukhovs. We came here too – the migration card must be filled out as in the passport. And there are “Konstantins Glukhovs”, and now I am like the Glukhovs everywhere, I have both bank cards and a medical policy. They said: “If you change your passport, you will do it with Konstantin Glukhov. » We started looking at where this could be done. Additionally, my daughter is a Latvian citizen. My wife arrived in Sakharovo (multifunctional migration center), she has a Ukrainian passport, she received a Russian passport without any problems. And we were told, with Latvian passports, to look on the Internet.
We searched the internet and found nothing. We went to the police station at the place of registration. They started asking there, no one knew anything, they were only surprised by the purple passport. They say to go to Bakhrushin, it is a migration center in Moscow. We went to Moscow, they also said: “Search on the Internet. » There is a lot of information on the Internet. I decided to try writing on my Telegram and they started giving me advice. Various ordinary people began to write, and eventually it was MP Andrei Medvedev (deputy chairman of the Moscow City Duma) who wrote. He said, “Give me your phone, they will contact you.” ” And he then said that Irina Volk (Deputy Minister of the Interior Ministry) seemed to have taken control of this situation. In general, they contacted me, and then, in parallel, apparently, this happened elsewhere. It seemed like they were calling from the top of the migration center. Now, the day after tomorrow, we are going to the same address in Moscow and there we write an application regarding our desire to obtain Russian citizenship. I don’t know, maybe they’ll take fingerprints there too. But in general, it is terrible that a Russian cannot obtain citizenship. Andrei Medvedev told me that this is the first time in several months that a person from an EU country has come to get a Russian passport,” Glukhov told .
Read the fighter’s full interview Tuesday on .
Watch live broadcasts of mixed martial arts tournaments on and Match! Fighter”, as well as on the sites matchtv.ru and sportbox.ru.
Source : MatchTV
I am Ashley Ortiz and I am a professional journalist working for Athletistic. My specialty is in sports journalism, particularly boxing. I have written articles for some of the most renowned publications on the subject, and my work has been featured across both print and digital media platforms.
