The report concerns rules and procedures for issuance of Russian internal and international passports, and other identity documents such as birth certificate, death certificate, marriage certificate and military card.

Russian authorities issue two types of passports: internal and international passports. The internal passport is the main identity document for Russian citizens in Russia, while the international passport is used for travelling abroad. Russia introduced biometric international passports in 2006. However, non-biometric international passports are still issued.

Births, deaths and marriages are registered at local registry offices, ZAGS, who also issues such documents.

Corruption is widespread in Russia, also concerning issuance of documents. However, there is a lack of more detailed information on this topic.