Every year, the Russian authorities "create" hundreds of thousands of new citizens -- 720,000 Russian passports have already been issued to residents of Ukraine's Donbas alone. In a sense, however, the Kremlin's actions are not so different from other governments that offer citizenship to foreign nationals in order to (1) expand their sphere of influence abroad and (2) acquire new, loyal electorates. Meanwhile, Russia has deprived nine million of its own citizens of a key civil right -- the right to stand for election -- and pro-government politicians periodically float the idea of depriving opposition-minded Russians of their citizenship. Meduza "Ideas" editor Maxim Trudolyubov breaks down how citizenship has evolved from a privilege to an instrument of control and manipulation.