Lithuania revokes citizenship of ice dancer performing in Russia

The Lithuanian Citizenship Commission has recommended stripping Russian-born ice dancer Margarita Drobiazko of her Lithuanian citizenship as she continues to perform in Russia.

Source: European Pravda, referring to LRT

Details: Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda has the right to revoke citizenship, and he said he would do so "in the near future".

Quote: "This issue is absolutely clear to me. So I will do it in the near future," Nausėda told journalists.

"I think that people who want to carry the light of culture and goodness with the boots of the aggressor should continue to do so without the citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania," Nausėda added.

Margarita Drobiazko lives in Russia. She was granted Lithuanian citizenship in 1993 for representing the country in international competitions. In her open letter earlier this week, the ice dancer said she was not participating in Russian propaganda but was spreading "the light of culture and goodness".

Pranas Žukauskas, Chairman of the Citizenship Commission, said the recommendation to strip Drobiazko of her citizenship is based on the athlete's actions but not on her explicit or implicit positions.

"I think that today [Drobiazko’s] merits [...] appear to be a sad parody in the light of what we saw and see today," Nausėda said.

"We have to choose sides as we cannot pretend that one thing exists without the other, especially when that culture, or the semblance of it, is created in a state that sheds innocent blood," the president noted.

"We must be principled and adhere to the values we have held since the first days of the war in Ukraine, and we will adhere to them," Nausėda added.

Background: Drobiazko's citizenship, granted as an exception 30 years ago, is being reviewed following recently imposed legislation that allows people with dual nationality to be stripped of their citizenship if they publicly express support for a state that poses a threat to the security interests of Lithuania or its allies.

Lithuanian authorities claimed that Drobiazko maintains close professional and personal ties with Tatiana Navka, wife of Dmitry Peskov, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s press secretary.

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