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Crimea and Sevastopol

Russia’s first electronic passports to be distributed in country’s south

Plastic cards with electronic chip will be issued in the Republic of Crimea, Sevastopol, and Krasnodar and Rostov regions

© ITAR-TASS/Sergey Karpov

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GORKI, October 28. /TASS/. The introduction of Russia’s first electronic passports will begin in the Republic of Crimea, Sevastopol as well as in the southern Rostov and Krasnodar Regions, Russian Communications Minister Nikolay Nikiforov said on Tuesday.

“Four pilot regions are currently under consideration, where an electronic passport in the form of a plastic card with electronic chip will be issued instead of a paper document if a citizen wishes so,” Nikifirov said. “The regions are Sevastopol (a city with a special regional status), the Republic of Crimea, the Rostov Region and the Krasnodar Region.

Nikifirov said the mentioned above regions were selected based on their geographical location as they all are located close to each other.

According to the minister, the project of introducing electronic passports in the country to replace the old paper documents is planned to be launched in 2015.

The Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol, a city with a special status on the Crimean peninsula, signed reunification deals with Russia on March 18 after a referendum two days earlier in which an overwhelming majority of Crimeans voted to secede from Ukraine and join the Russian Federation.

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All Sevastopol residents to receive Russian passports by yearend - governor

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Crimea and Sevastopol Russia's domestic policy

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