Electronic passport of a citizen of Russia

Digital documents in Russia

Main article: Digital documents in Russia

2023

Ministry of Digital Development of the Russian Federation published the rules for using a digital passport

On October 7, 2023 Ministry of Digital Development Russia , it announced the rules for using a digital passport created to simplify the verification of the identity of citizens in various situations. We are talking about using the mobile application "" Public services instead of traditional paper documents. Russians will be able to demonstrate QR code to receive certain services, make purchases, etc.

Citizens who have transferred their biometric and personal data to the unified biometric system (EBS), as well as those who have uploaded a photo of a passport, driver's license or fan card to the Public services application, or have submitted biometric data to the MPSC, will be able to use a digital passport. It is noted that the use of a mobile application is exclusively voluntary: existing paper documents retain their status - they can still be presented without any restrictions.

Ministry of Digital Development unveiled the rules for using a digital passport

At the first stage, it will be possible to confirm your identity using "Public services" in the following situations:

• in the store - when buying alcohol or cigarettes;
• in a movie or museum - when passing to an event with an age limit;
• when boarding a train or intercity bus;
• when receiving public services;
• in financial market organizations;
• when accessing cellular operators.

In the future, the scope of using a digital passport will expand. Among other things, it can be used to enter an office center with a bandwidth system, to confirm the right to a benefit or free service, when sending or receiving parcels and registered letters, in insurance companies, etc.

When checking, only the necessary data will be displayed. For example, a seller of a tobacco store or a movie ticket will see only photos and age information, and a train conductor will see a photo, series and passport number to check them with the data indicated in the ticket.

The rules note that a citizen independently ensures the safety and non-disclosure of information related to the use of a mobile application, including information used by him to access an individual mobile device and/or mobile application and its services (logins, passwords, codes), and is also independently responsible for all actions performed using the mobile application and the information used by it to access the mobile application (logins, passwords, codes).^[1]

Putin signed a decree on a digital passport

President Vladimir Putin equated the presentation of identity documents in electronic form using the Public services mobile application to providing a paper version of the passport. The corresponding decree on September 18, 2023 was published on the official Internet portal of legal information.

Vladimir Putin

"Establish that the submission by citizens of the Russian Federation of information contained in documents certifying the identity of a citizen of the Russian Federation, or other documents issued to citizens of the Russian Federation by state bodies of the Russian Federation, in electronic form using the mobile application of the federal state information system" Unified portal of state and municipal services (functions) "is equated in cases determined by the Government of the Russian Federation in agreement with the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation with the presentation of these documents," the decree says.

Citizens can provide documents through a mobile application voluntarily.

The head of state also instructed the Government of the Russian Federation within three months, in agreement with the FSB, to determine the list of documents that can be presented using a mobile application, to approve the procedure for its use and the composition of information that can be presented using a mobile application, as well as the procedure for their processing.

According to the document, the Ministry of Digital Development of the Russian Federation, based on data provided to the ministry by legal entities, maintains a register that contains data on legal entities and their types of activities, for the implementation of which information provided through a mobile application is used. At the same time, the legal entity has the right to check the information provided using the mobile application from the moment the relevant data is entered into the register.

Decree of the President of the Russian Federation No. 695 has already entered into force.^[2]

In April 2023, the Ministry of Digital Development prepared a draft presidential decree on electronic passports, according to which citizens will be able to present a digital version of the document with "Public services" instead of paper.^[3]

Putin instructed to develop a procedure for using a digital passport

At the end of March 2023, it became known about the order of Russian President Vladimir Putin regarding the project of electronic passports. Until May 1, 2023, the government will have to determine the cases and procedure for presenting a digital identity card to a citizen of the Russian Federation instead of an ordinary passport.

The Government of the Russian Federation to prepare together with the FSB of Russia and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia and submit a draft decree of the President of the Russian Federation, establishing the cases and procedure for presenting a digital identity card of a citizen of the Russian Federation obtained using the mobile application of the federal state information system "Unified Portal of State and Municipal Services," instead of documents certifying the identity of a citizen of the Russian Federation, - said on the website of the Kremlin.

Vladimir Putin

The head of the Ministry of Digital Science Maksut Shadayev asked to instruct to develop such a draft presidential decree by May. At a meeting in February 2023, he said that in 80% of all cases in everyday life, you can do without a paper passport, replacing it with a smartphone. According to the minister, Russians will be able to upload photos from a biometric passport, after which a QR code is generated, which is presented.

In February 2023, Vladimir Putin supported the idea of ​ ​ Maksut Shadayev to introduce a digital identity card, which can be confirmed using the State Public services portal.

Of course, such services are in great demand and it is necessary to speed up their implementation, - says the head of state.

In February 2023, a new identity confirmation service was also launched on Public services. Users can download a picture of a biometric passport in the application and use it in various situations to confirm their identity instead of a passport.^[4]

2022

Ministry of Digital Development of the Russian Federation paused the draft electronic passports due to a shortage of chips

In June 2022, it became known that the Ministry of Digital Development of the Russian Federation paused the draft electronic passports largely due to the shortage of chips and plastic cards. It was planned to issue digital documents from 2023 in Moscow, the Moscow region and Tatarstan.

Work on the project was suspended after the start of the Russian special operation on, a To Ukraine Forbes source in the Ministry of Digital Development and a participant in the development of the project said. The interlocutors of the publication, Government of the Russian Federation close to the mayor's office, Moscow also said that the project is now (by June 11, 2022) "not a priority" and at present "everyone is a little wrong."

Ministry of Digital Development of the Russian Federation paused the draft electronic passports due to a shortage of chips

The cost of a digital passport (1 thousand rubles, while a paper passport costs 300 rubles) "would cause a great resonance in society," since Moscow residents can still afford such expenses, and in the regions they would not pay so much, a Forbes source said. At the same time, he added that technically the project was already ready, but the cabinet did not give the go-ahead for its start.

Konstantin Derishev, general director of the plastic card manufacturer Strana Karta, notes that before the start of the special operation, most of the chips for the production of plastic smart cards were supplied from Europe, and the remaining market share was occupied by Chinese chip modules.

The market is actively switching from European chips to Chinese and domestic ones, he said, noting that Russia may not have enough chips to produce smart cards.

A Forbes source close to one of the microelectronics manufacturers noted that the chips necessary for smart cards by June 2022 can already be created in large volumes depending on demand. But there is still no officially approved technical documentation for the digital passport project, so it is not even known what chips are needed for an electronic passport, he added.^[5]

Research Institute "Voskhod" received a contract from the Ministry of Digital Development Science for the development of a state-funded system of migration and registration accounting

On February 2, 2022, it became known that the Russian authorities began adapting the Mir state system for electronic passports, which provides migration and registration records, as well as the production, registration and control of the circulation of documents certifying the identity of citizens. Read more here.

2021

Chernyshenko named the first regions of the launch of digital passports

On December 27, 2021, the first pilot regions for the introduction of electronic passports became known: the Republic of Tatarstan, Moscow, Moscow Region. Digital documents will be issued there from the beginning of 2023, said Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko.

According to him, the system project of a digital passport by the end of December 2021 is ready, technical tests of basic electronic components - a blank and microcircuits - have been carried out.

Dmitry Chernyshenko named the first regions for the launch of digital passports

He recalled that the digital passport is an analogue of an electronic bank card with a contactless chip. If desired, other information can be entered into the memory of the smart card, for example, TIN, SNILS, driver's license number.

A map containing several degrees of protection against fakes will be marked with personal data of a person, his photo. By the end of next [2022], all preparatory measures will be completed, - said Chernyshenko.

On December 26, 2021, the head of the Main Directorate for Migration MINISTRY OF INTERNAL AFFAIRS , Valentina Kazakova, announced that Ministry of Digital Development the Ministry of Internal Affairs and "interested state bodies" are working on the requirements for issuing and issuing electronic passports. The number of such documents, according to Kazakova, will primarily depend on the demand of Russians.

It is expected that at the initial stage they will be issued at least 100 thousand. Citizens from the age of 14 will be able to voluntarily obtain passports. There is no priority procedure for issuing such documents. From a legal point of view, electronic passports will have the same status as paper ones.

State Duma Deputy Anton Gorelkin, commenting on the upcoming launch of the project, stressed that the transition to electronic passports is a personal matter for every citizen. The paper medium will be in use for a long time, no one will be forced to switch to digital documents, he said.^[6]

Maksut Shadayev: Russian electronic passport will be represented by a smart card and QR code

The Russian electronic passport will be represented by a smart card and a QR code. This was announced on October 18, 2021 at a meeting of the State Duma Committee on Information Policy, Information Technology and Communications by the head of the Ministry of Digital Science Maksut Shadayev. According to him, it is planned to launch the document by the end of 2022 in three regions of Russia.

I really hope that by the end of next [2022] year in three constituent entities of the Russian Federation we will be able to start issuing a new passport in these two types, interconnected, "Shadayev said.

The head of the Ministry of Digital Development Maksut Shadayev: The Russian electronic passport will be represented by a smart card and a QR code

The smart card will contain the necessary information about the citizen, which can be read from a special chip. When implementing a mobile application for Russians, it will be possible to show a QR code instead of a smart card. At the same time, the mobile application will have a restriction: it will be used only in such simple domestic situations where there is no need to use a passport on a physical carrier (for example, when buying alcohol), the head of the Ministry of Digital Development said.

He stressed that every Russian can decide for himself which type of document he should use - paper or electronic. The head of the department stressed that "there will be no obligation."

These are interchangeable formats, but again, at the request and readiness of the user (you can) abandon the usual format in favor of a more technological, more secure option. We understand that a smart card with a chip is a more secure option than a paper passport, and more convenient to use, "said Maksut Shadayev.

In which pilot regions will begin to distribute electronic passports, the head of the Ministry of Digital Development did not specify.

Earlier, a survey on replacing a passport with a smart card was conducted by analysts at the Superjob portal. They found that 41% of Russians do not want to change a paper passport to a digital one. Only 31% of respondents are ready to replace.^[7]

Ministry of Digital Development: Technical design of e-passport is ready

On June 7, 2021, it became known that the Ministry of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Communications of the Russian Federation completed work on the creation of a technical project for an electronic passport of a citizen of Russia.

We made a technical project, coordinate it together with the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the FSB of Russia and prepare a technical solution. We very much hope that this [2021] year we will be able to launch a pilot in Moscow, - said the head of the department Maksut Shadayev.

The technical project of the electronic passport is ready, said the head of the Ministry of Digital Development Maksut Shadayev

According to him, by the beginning of June 2021, the issue is being discussed, in which the paper passport will be replaced by a smart card and a mobile application, which would be useful in "nine out of ten cases."

In May 2021, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko said that an electronic passport would be a plastic card, comparable in size to a regular bank card. It will include a photo of the owner, his name and date of birth. The card will contain an electronic storage medium, it is needed to store personal and biometric data of a person, including a face image, fingerprints and a registration address.

According to the Deputy Prime Minister, the electronic passport will be used on the territory of Russia along with paper and issued voluntarily. At the same time, after receiving an electronic document, the paper document will not be valid.

On June 5, 2021, TASS Information Agency of Russia published an interview with Dmitry Chernyshenko, in which he said that the government was ready to sign a document on conducting an experiment with an electronic passport in Moscow from December 1, 2021. In the regions, the service will appear by mid-2023.

The Deputy Prime Minister believes that the electronic passport will be especially popular among young people, since "it is convenient to carry it with you, you do not need to be afraid that you will lose it, it is impossible to fake it, the data in it is very well protected and plus, this opens up the possibility of a large number of electronic services, you do not need to think about electronic signature, do not need to think about remote identification, verification."^[8]

The launch of electronic passports throughout the Russian Federation will take place before July 1, 2023

In March 2021, new deadlines for the introduction of electronic passports in Russia became known. From December 1, 2021, Muscovites will be able to draw up such a document, and throughout Russia the procedure will be launched no later than July 1, 2023. This is stated in the draft decree of the President of Russia, developed by the Ministry of Digital Development of the Russian Federation.

The document says that a mobile application will also start working, which will perform the functions of a passport. It is expected that it will begin to be used in 2021-2022 for appeals to the MPSC, when purchasing alcohol and tobacco products, as well as when concluding contracts.

It is expected that at the time of the launch of electronic passports in 2021, the list of compatible services will be small, but the authorities will gradually expand it.

The launch of electronic passports throughout Russia will take place before July 1, 2023

The draft decree proposes to establish the following:

• a passport containing an electronic storage medium is used on the territory of the Russian Federation along with a passport on paper;
• on the electronic medium of the passport, biometric and other personal data of the owner of such passport are placed, including an image of his face and papillary patterns of two fingers;
• electronic document can be used as the main document certifying the identity of a citizen of the Russian Federation on the territory of Russia, in cases and in the manner established by the government.

Svetlana Belova, General Director of Identity Management Systems, in a conversation with Kommersant, expressed doubts that with the introduction of electronic documents, Russia will be able to get rid of classic passports.

I think it's going to be a long, hard story. Most of the states in which such projects were successful are countries where the stage of paper passports was missed. Therefore, I do not believe that there will be queues to issue an electronic passport, already having a paper one on hand. Perhaps from some point after reaching the age of 14, teenagers will be offered to use a digital document, and they, being more advanced, will begin to treat this with great confidence, "she explained.[9][10]

Putin instructed to conduct an experiment with digital copies of passports and driver's licenses

On February 15, 2021, the Kremlin website published an order from Russian President Vladimir Putin on the need for an experiment to use digital copies of documents. Read more here.

2020

Electronic passports in Moscow will be introduced until December 1, 2021

On November 27, 2020, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation specified the timing of the introduction of electronic passports in Moscow. In pilot mode, they will be available over the coming years.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, together with the Ministry of Digital Development of Russia, the government of Moscow, other interested state bodies and the business community, is working on approaches to conducting an experiment to launch a passport with an electronic storage medium in Moscow with its subsequent distribution throughout the country... Preparatory work for the launch of an electronic passport, both legal and technical, in the pilot zone of Moscow is planned to be carried out by December 1, 2021, ― the Ministry of Internal Affairs said in a statement.

The department noted that with the help of an electronic passport it will be possible to use state and commercial services. In addition to the passport, a special mobile application will work. The Ministry of Internal Affairs assured that the electronic document will be better protected in comparison with paper, and if lost, it can be quickly blocked.

The electronic document will be a plastic card the size of a bank (ID1 format) with an electronic information carrier of domestic production. It will contain data contained in the current paper passport of a citizen of the Russian Federation (on registration at the place of residence, on marital status, on children). At the same time, basic information about the citizen will be posted on the plastic card itself, the Ministry of Internal Affairs said.

Earlier in November 2020, the head of the Ministry of Digital Development Maksut Shadayev said that residents of Russia will be massively provided with digital counterparts of the main documents in 2021.

The translation of document flow into digital format and the introduction of electronic passports is provided for by the federal program "Digital State Administration" of the national project "Digital Economy." In total, it is planned to allocate more than 1.8 trillion rubles for its implementation.^[11]

An application for an electronic passport has been created in Russia

In early September 2020, it became known about the completion of the development of the Mobile Identifier application, on the basis of which an electronic passport project is being implemented in Russia. According to Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko, the program is being certified.

Everything has already been created there, the question is certification and cryptographic protection of the keys of electronic qualified signatures... We, in my opinion, have no unfulfilled instructions, - he said in a conversation with TASS.

As the agency notes, within the framework of the pilot project, it will be possible to use the application as a passport for Muscovites over 18 years old with a verified account on the public services portal and a valid passport. The application "Mobile Identifier" will be used instead of a passport of a citizen of the Russian Federation to receive certain state, municipal and other services.

Russia has developed an application for an electronic passport

The Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications decided to conduct an experiment from July 1, 2020 to December 31, 2021 in order to increase the efficiency of public administration and the provision of services both in person and remotely through the introduction of digital technologies. What kind of services are planned to be made available using the application is not specified. Application development is the first stage of the experiment.

To start using the application, you need to submit a written application to one of the MPSC participating in the experiment, register in the Unified Identification and Authentication System (ESIA) and the Moscow City Information Resource Access Control System ( SUDIR).

The "mobile identifier" will be subject to blocking in case of loss, replacement or theft of a mobile device with an application installed and activated on it, as well as detection of illegal actions carried out using it. The user can block the application at any time.^[12]

QR code will replace passport when buying alcohol in Moscow

On May 26, 2020, it became known that the QR code will replace the passport when buying alcohol in Moscow. Such an opportunity will be available to users of the application for smartphones "Mobile Identifier," the head of the Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications of the Russian Federation Maksut Shadayev said during a briefing.

According to him, when buying alcohol, Russians using a gadget instead of a passport as part of an experiment in Moscow will be able to show only the data that is necessary for a specific service when buying alcohol.

The Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications proposed to use a QR code instead of a passport when buying alcohol

For each specific case, I give exactly the set of information that the second side needs. For example, if I want to buy alcohol and I need to confirm the appropriate age that allows me to do this, then within the framework of the provided QR code I show only my photo and age. Because the seller does not need to know my name and address, where I am registered, - explained Shadayev (quoted by TASS Information Agency of Russia).

It will also be possible to present its QR code replacing the passport when receiving public services, to confirm age when buying tobacco products, when purchasing railway and air tickets on domestic routes, for registering an individual entrepreneur, concluding an employment contract, buying or selling a car, for receiving, etc. The Ministry of Telecom and Mass^[13]

According to RBC, the transition to an electronic passport was associated with the introduction of a digital profile - a platform that, within the framework of the national project "Digital Economy," is supposed to be used to store basic data of citizens and links to data from state information systems. The bill on the creation of a digital profile was submitted to the State Duma in the summer of 2019, but did not receive a move in the end.

Sergey Vikharev, director of the consulting group on promising technologies at KPMG in Russia and the CIS, notes that one of the goals of testing in Moscow is to check the readiness of the infrastructure. 

The Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications proposes an experiment to replace passports with a mobile application in Moscow

The Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications proposes to conduct an experiment in Moscow on the use of a mobile application instead of a passport of a citizen of the Russian Federation for certain state and municipal services from July 1, 2020 until the end of 2021. This follows from the draft decree of the government of the Russian Federation, posted on the portal of draft regulatory legal acts.

The experiment provides for the creation, provision, activation and use of a new mobile application "Mobile Identifier" instead of a passport of a citizen of the Russian Federation when providing certain state, municipal and other services.

The mobile application will assume authorization through a confirmed account on the portal. "Public services" However, after it, you will need to activate the mobile application in. MPSC Moscow

The experiment provides for the creation, provision, activation and use of a new mobile application "Mobile Identifier" instead of a passport of a citizen of the Russian Federation when providing certain state, municipal and other services. (photo - www.iphones.ru)

A list of state and other services will be determined, the provision of which in Moscow is carried out by federal executive bodies, the city government, multifunctional centers, as well as museums and organizations from the retail sector that voluntarily agreed to participate in the experiment.

For the experiment, a decree of the Government of the Russian Federation will be developed with a description of the procedure for conducting a pilot project.

The experiment will create conditions for increasing the speed of servicing citizens and comfortable conditions for business when providing state and commercial services in electronic form, the Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications notes.

2019

FSB against mobile version of electronic passport

On November 13, 2019, it became known about the criticism of the Federal Security Service (FSB) against the bill on the creation of digital profiles of Russian citizens, as well as initiatives to use mobile versions of electronic passports.

According to Kommersant, citing a letter from the head of the FSB's operational information and international relations service, Sergei Conversation, to the head of the state legal department of the Russian president, Larisa Brycheva, the new bill "does not contain specific goals for which the processing of personal data in the proposed volume is provided."

Federal Security Service (FSB) addressed to the bill on the creation of digital profiles of Russian citizens

Processing information about Russians in a single infrastructure will increase the risks of their illegal collection and distribution, and may also entail the disclosure of data on persons under state protection (judges, prosecutors, investigators, law enforcement officers and their loved ones), Beseda notes.

According to The Bell, the FSB opposed the idea of ​ ​ creating a mobile application that could serve as a full-fledged analogue of a physical passport in the form of a card with a chip. According to the special services, it is unsafe to store personal data of Russians on devices with iOS and Android, and the owners of these operating systems - Apple and Google - can analyze traffic and collect personal information of Russians.

It will be possible to equate a mobile application and a physical card only in the case of normal functioning of domestic operating systems.

Due to the position of the FSB, the capabilities of the mobile version of the electronic passport are likely to be limited. With the help of the application, for example, it will be possible to pass an age check when buying alcohol from a phone, but it is impossible to certify the sale of an apartment or perform other legal significant actions. For such operations, you will have to present a paper passport.^[14]

Electronic passports in Moscow will begin to be issued in March 2020

In mid-October 2019, the timing of the start of the experiment on the issuance of electronic passports in Russia became known. The information is contained in the draft presidential decree published on the portal of draft legal acts.

The draft decree authorizes the Russian government to conduct an experiment from March 1, 2020, including the release, issuance, with the involvement of multifunctional centers for the provision of state and municipal services in the city of Moscow, of a passport of a citizen of the Russian Federation in the form of a material carrier with a chip and a mobile application, the explanatory note to the document says.

Pilot for the issuance of electronic passports may begin in Moscow from March 1, 2020

It is noted that the experiment on the issuance of such documents will begin first in Moscow, and only then it will spread throughout the country. The Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications claims that the adoption of the draft decree will not require the allocation of additional funds from the federal budget.

At the first stage - from March 1, 2020 - it is planned to start releasing only a mobile application associated with a passport of a citizen of the Russian Federation, at the second stage - from July 1, 2020 - to release a passport of a citizen of the Russian Federation in the form of a material carrier with a chip and a mobile application associated with such a passport.

In addition, from December 1, 2019, the Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications plans to launch a preparatory stage, within the framework of which the required agreements will be concluded between the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia and the State Budgetary Institution of the MPSC of Moscow, determine the scope of use of a mobile identity card, and adopt the necessary legal acts to ensure the launch of the experiment.

It is worth recalling that it was planned to start issuing electronic passports in Russia back in 2016.

A survey conducted in 2019 by VTsIOM showed that the majority of Russians (59%) are not ready to give up a paper passport. About 22% of respondents consider electronic identity cards unreliable, another 8% are worried about possible failures in the system and database.^[15]

Russians will be allowed to buy alcohol without a passport. It will be replaced by a mobile application

On September 9, 2019, it became known that Russians would be able to buy alcohol or tobacco products without showing a passport. Instead, it is planned to use a mobile application.

As  Deputy Prime Minister RFMaksim Akimov, who oversees the transport industry and the digital economy, told Izvestia, instead of a passport, a mobile application for paying for goods and services using wireless data transmission technology will work. In particular, it will affect alcohol and cigarettes.

It will be possible to buy alcohol and cigarettes by presenting a smartphone instead of a passport

The application will be available for device owners in, and iOS Android Russian. operating system "Aurora" The design of the program will be chosen by popular vote. To access the application, authorization is required, after which the account can be synchronized with the public services portal.

The application will be on Russian cryptography. In general, this will work in much the way that payment for goods and services using NFC works now... The passport will contain two components: a card with a chip and an application on a mobile device, Akimov said.

To control and block the sale of alcohol to people with severe alcohol intoxication or who are driving, reading devices will be installed: either touchscreens for reading prints, or devices with face recognition technology, but this, according to Akimov, "is legally very difficult."

Perhaps in the horizon of several years it will be mandatory to install driver tracking systems using facial recognition technology, he suggested, adding that as a driver he had already tested these systems.

The experiment on the introduction of electronic passports not only in the form of a card with a chip, but also as a special application on a mobile phone will be launched in Moscow in 2020.^[16]

Chips in e-passports will store twice as much data as in foreign passports

Chips in electronic passports in Russia will store twice as much data as in biometric passports. This was reported on July 24, 2019 by Izvestia with reference to the chief designer of the Research Institute of  Molecular Electronics (NIIME) Alexander Kravtsov.

NIIME will develop chips for electronic passports, and their production will be established at a Russian plant. "Micron"

Digital identity cards of citizens will be able to store twice as much data as biometric passports, and will be protected by domestic encryption algorithms

Microcircuits will be universal: they can be installed not only on passports, but also other electronic documents, including driving a license and licenses of an employee of government agencies. 

Kravtsov stressed that the new generation of chips will allow storing up to 144 KB of information. For comparison:  microcircuits in biometric passports hold up to 72 KB. At the same time, the size of the chip will remain the same.

Doubling memory without changing dimensions was achieved by improving circuitry, optimizing encryption algorithms and  using more advanced logic blocks that speed up coding.

We created such a cell design that the size of the chip and its security remained the same, and the maximum possible amount of downloaded data doubled. It is important that our product is made according to the technology already mastered in Russia and widely used, with a minimum cell size of 180 nanometers. Therefore, additional development and development of new technologies will not be required - you can immediately start mass production, - said Alexander Kravtsov.

Cryptography has also undergone changes and meets strict standards. FSB The encryption key is formed again every time: this means that even if an attacker can hack it, he will receive information in only one communication session. In addition to cryptographic algorithms, the chip will be protected by devices that block its operation in case of physical unauthorized interference.^[17]

Muscovites will be the first to receive electronic passports

The issuance of electronic passports will begin in 2020. This decision was made at a meeting held by the Prime Minister Russia Dmitry Medvedev on July 17, 2019.

Dmitry Medvedev held a meeting on the launch of electronic passports in Russia

This is not the first time we have addressed this issue, preparations for such events have been going on, there are certain decisions on this topic. An electronic passport is a common thing in many countries, it has proven itself well both in terms of convenience and in terms of reliability. Such a document simplifies interaction with government agencies, obtaining state and commercial services. There is no need to fill out questionnaires, write certificates, reprint data, as was traditionally done, which is often accompanied by errors and mediocre wasted time. All this will be in electronic form. The electronic passport, of course, has other advantages - it is more difficult to forge and very difficult to damage, "Medvedev said in his opening remarks.

Work on the introduction of electronic passports, according to the prime minister, is planned to be carried out within the framework of the national program "Digital Economy." It is expected that by 2024, Russians will be able to fully use the electronic passport.

Medvedev recalled that back in 2013, the concept of this document was approved. Now it is necessary to finally determine with what is the optimal type of electronic passport, what it should contain, how it will be protected.

Obviously, in the six years that have passed since 2013, a lot has changed, primarily in terms of technical capabilities. Obviously, we can quickly abandon the use of paper passports, there is an offer to do this two years earlier than originally planned, that is, sometime in 2023. And two years ahead of the original deadline to replace paper passports with electronic ones. Taking into account this and, of course, the decisions that we will develop, this concept will need to be updated according to electronic documents, - said the head of government.

In his opinion, an electronic passport can be in the form of a plastic card with a chip or in the form of a mobile application, that is, information about a person's identity, which exists digitally and is somehow read.

We mean both options: and a document that has a physical form, that is, the form of a plastic card that can be carried with you as an ordinary passport, and as an additional option - this is a mobile application in a smartphone, which is also used in a number of countries, "Medvedev explained.

As expected, the electronic passport will contain all the data about the person, his electronic signature. Plus, it will combine several documents, including a driver's license, SNILS, etc.

Of course, no one is now talking about immediately, right now, replacing paper passports with an unusual document. An ordinary passport, of course, will be valid. We plan to gradually move to innovation, only after the necessary preparations, "the prime minister added.

At the same time, according to Medvedev, there is already every opportunity to successfully implement this project. The level of development of information technologies allows you to do this. This is the Unified Biometric System, an identification and authentication system, the ability to use the so-called cloud qualified electronic signature and other modern solutions.

As part of the Digital Economy program, a platform is being created for the exchange of information between people, the state and organizations. Microelectronics enterprises as a whole are ready to supply the chips that are needed to issue digital passports. The question is to synchronize and organize this work, "he said.

In addition, Medvedev focused on several key points of the e-passport:

The first and most important thing is obvious - this is security. If we translate all our personal data into a "digit," we must make sure that they are most reliably protected from hacking and manipulation. These issues require special control.

The second question is reliability. This applies to the infrastructure to be formed for the introduction of electronic identifiers. Here you need to digitize a large array of data, prevent errors and see that the system works smoothly.

The third is the convenience of switching to an electronic passport. If you just issue a card without talking about its advantages, then there will be no special point. Many people, especially people of age, have some kind of distrust of technical innovations of this kind. This should be treated with attention and respect, this is understandable. We need to take care that the transition for this category of people is comfortable and painless. This means that it is necessary to carry out information work, prepare people for the fact that such documents will appear.

After the meeting, Deputy Prime Minister Maxim Akimov clarified a number of details of the upcoming project. In particular, he said that the issuance of electronic passports will begin in July 2020.

Maxim Akimov spoke about the start of the project to issue electronic passports

We're technically ready for that. We will not use any foreign components either from the point of view of cryptographic algorithms, or from the point of view of software, or from the point of view of a chip, or from the point of view of a form factor - everything will be done on the territory of the Russian Federation, the official said.

At the first stage, the issuance of passports of a new model will begin in Moscow - "and due to the fact that interest in such innovations is quite high here, and because the infrastructure is quite developed."

Then, as it increases from 1,100 to 3,000 points for issuing new-style passports in the country, it is planned to complete the issuance of old-style passports within 2022.

But if those who have paper passports in their hands do not want to change them - it is familiar, convenient or simply due to some other beliefs, people will want to continue to use these passports, then such an opportunity will be, as they say, to the deathboard. There is no coercion, obligation, campaigning here, - said Akimov.

According to him, an electronic passport is an extremely secure document with a holographic image, with Russian cryptography, with a QR code. At the same time, security will be an order of magnitude higher than in the field of circulation of paper passports.

Such an example. How much time does it take for the lost passport not to enter the black market for fake passports in order to catch and compromise it? This is almost impossible. Such a market, unfortunately, exists, it gives rise to fraud, is used in any criminal activity. But if you lose this new format, lose it, drop it somewhere, can't find it, then a few seconds will be enough to block it. It will be necessary to call the relevant services, a multifunctional center or department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, block and then compromise it. In any case, if someone discovers it and wants to use it, firstly, upon presentation it instantly turns out that it is not yours - you simply will not get access, you will not hack crypto protection (especially since there is also a holographic image). Secondly, when accessing databases, it will be clear that this record is blocked. Then there will already be a question for the bearer of this document. I would not risk doing this in the place of fraudsters, - said the Deputy Prime Minister.

In his opinion, an electronic passport is a completely new degree of convenience.

How much time is spent filling out endless forms, signatures instead of just attaching this document - and you have a pre-filled form, "he explained.

As for the cost, at the first stage, the duty for issuing a new document will be 300 rubles. It will be valid for 10 years.

The map will include: last name, first name, patronymic, date of birth, place of birth, validity period of the document, data on the place of residence. In addition, the new document will include a driver's license, SNILS, TIN - all of them will be contained on the same card and rewritten by authorized bodies if they change.

Let me remind you that the duty for obtaining a driver's license, if my memory does not change me, is 2 thousand rubles, and here - 300 rubles. But this is not the main thing. The main thing is great convenience and security, - said the Deputy Prime Minister.

New passports at the first stage will be issued to the police department. Such opportunities should also appear in the MPSC.

In 2020, we will start with those points for issuing new-style passports, the so-called electronic ones, which are now operating. But we will triple the capacity so that everyone can take advantage of this opportunity, "Akimov explained.

Regarding the mobile application, Maxim Akimov noted that the innovation consists in its functioning:

A huge number of operations can be performed using the fact that on Russian crypto protection for all platforms - for Android, iOS, Russian platforms (we hope to launch our Aurora platform) - the mobile application "My Passport" will be available, which cannot be hacked, changed, forged, which will also refer to cloud records. With the help of cloud technologies, it will be possible to use a cloud electronic signature. And for example, to present a ticket at the airport, at the railway station, at the ticket office, you will not need to carry even this rather light document in your pocket all the time, but you will need to present the application so that you can be compared and compared. Immediately there will be your photo, and your data on the corresponding device of the operator, - said the official.

Create an application, according to Akimov, will be a state developer.

Until now, we recall that the main contractor for ensuring the functioning of information systems for issuing passports from the Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications was the state research institute Voskhod (in 2011-2012, as deputy director of the research institute Voskhod, these projects were led by Alexei Ivanov, who was arrested on suspicion of corruption in July 2019). On the part of the Federal Migration Service of Russia, which existed until 2016, the largest projects on passport information systems were carried out by the system integrator Technoserv.

2018: New date for issuance of electronic passports determined

On October 9, 2018, the Vedomosti newspaper wrote that the Russian Government planned to start transferring Russians to electronic identity cards in 2021.

The development of the draft law on an electronic passport was entrusted to the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation and ANO "Digital Economy" by Deputy Prime Minister Maxim Akimov. The implementation of the project until 2024 will require about 115 billion rubles, which are planned to be collected at the expense of state duties for issuing a document, the newspaper wrote.

As reported, the document of the new sample will be a plastic card resembling a bank card, inside which an electronic chip is placed. In addition to the usual passport data, an electronic identity card will contain an electronic digital signature, three photos and fingerprints of the owner.

It was also assumed that the passport would save Russians from the need to wear other important documents, such as SNILS, insurance policy, driver's license, TIN. In addition, the possibility of using an electronic passport as a bank card was not excluded. In addition, the updated passport should simplify the access of Russian citizens to public services, becoming the "key" to the "digital profile," the concept of which is jointly developed by the Bank of Russia and Ministry of Digital Development of the Russian Federation.

The Digital Profile project should ensure the storage and secure exchange of personal data between citizens, government and commercial organizations using a single identifier, and will also allow managing "digital consents" for the exchange of information.^[18]

2016

Electronic passports in Russia were planned to be issued from January 1, 2017

In 2016, the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation announced that the replacement of paper passports and universal electronic cards (UEC) with electronic identity cards would begin on January 1, 2017. It was also reported that obtaining various kinds of certificates and permits in electronic form will be possible only if there is a new electronic identity card.

The new passport of Russians will look like a plastic card with a chip. The document will display such information as digital color photography, a digital image of a personal signature, the code of the subdivision of the body that issued the identity card, SNILS and TIN (if a citizen does not inform about the refusal to display them), the identification mark of the document and registration information at the place of permanent residence. All data will be recorded in both visual and electronic form (on a chip). The electronic passport will also have protection against fakes: it will technically be impossible to make changes either from the outside or from the back.

The Ministry of Economic Development of Russia drew attention to the fact that UECs will not lose their relevance, but will be used together with new electronic passports, while their issuance will be terminated^[19].

Postponement of the launch in connection with the presidential election

Later in 2016, following the curtailment of the Universal Electronic Card project , the Russian authorities decided to postpone the introduction of an electronic passport.

On April 16, 2016, the Government issued a resolution "On measures to assist election commissions in the exercise of powers in the preparation and conduct of elections of deputies of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation of the seventh convocation."

One of these measures was the postponement of measures to introduce an identity card of a citizen of the Russian Federation on the territory of the Russian Federation, issued in the form of a plastic card with an electronic storage medium, as the main document certifying the identity of a citizen of the Russian Federation, for the period after March 15, 2018 (i.e. after the presidential election)^[20].

According to a TAdviser source familiar with the reasons for postponing the introduction of an electronic passport, this was due to the fears of the presidential administration: "It is inappropriate to play with identity cards before the elections, since various frauds are possible."

At the same time, in the protocol of the government commission on the use of IT to improve the quality of life (a copy is at the disposal of TAdviser), which met on April 5, 2016, chaired by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, two more instructions were given on the topic of e-passport:

• The FSO of Russia to conduct a sociological survey and assess social tension in the constituent entities of the Russian Federation in order to study the attitude of the population to the introduction of a new generation citizen's identity card and submit a report to the Government of the Russian Federation. The term is June 1, 2016.

• The Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications of Russia, together with interested federal executive bodies, submit to the Government of the Russian Federation a draft report to the President of the Russian Federation on the advisability of introducing a new type of citizen's identity card in the Russian Federation in accordance with the established procedure. The term is April 29, 2016.

The doubts of a number of departments in the Government about the advisability of introducing an electronic passport may be associated not only with the need for budgetary savings, but also with the fact that not everyone in the Government and the Presidential Administration understands why electronic identity cards are needed now. I do not think that this could play a decisive role, but perhaps the negative position of the Russian Orthodox Church and the generally wary attitude of society towards new technologies had some impact. It is clear that to start such a project is to get involved in some kind of long-term construction. That is, there are many arguments against and justified doubts, and the arguments for are vague and vague, - said Mikhail Braude-Zolotarev, director of the Center for IT Research and Expertise of the RANEPA

Another interlocutor of TAdviser in one of the federal departments does not exclude that the decision to postpone the project can be revised if its supporters manage to convince the President of this.

2015

Pilot launch in Crimea

In April 2015, it was reported that a pilot project for the release of electronic identity cards replacing traditional paper passports had begun in the Crimean Department of the Federal Migration Service (FMS).

Answering Dmitry Medvedev's question about the readiness of pilot regions to issue electronic passports, the head of the Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications Nikolai Nikiforov said that "technically, in fact, we are fully ready, we are waiting for legal registration."

According to Dmitry Medvedev, the issuance of electronic cards should take place at the request of a citizen: "You can receive - you can not receive. There is a question of habit, and maybe it will not seem very convenient for people to mature. But then everyone gets used to it and transitions. "

2014

What an electronic passport will look like

In August 2014, the FMS published for public discussion a draft government decree approving a description and sample of a Russian citizen's identity card issued in the form of a plastic card with an integrated circuit.

According to the document, the scale of the physical medium of the electronic certificate will be 53.98x85.6 mm. It will contain personal data of a citizen, including biometric. On the front side of the card, the owner's surname, first name, patronymic, date of birth, gender, place of birth, number and date of registration of the certificate must be indicated. The validity period of the certificate must also be indicated there.

The SNILS number is indicated on the back of the certificate and, at the request of the citizen, his individual taxpayer number, the code of the subdivision of the body that issued the identity card, information about the legal representatives of a minor citizen of the Russian Federation under the age of 14, and a machine-readable record of the identity card.

Using the digital printing method, a photo of the owner of the certificate will also be printed on the map.

The bill establishes that the issuance of an identity card should be carried out with a guarantee of its use without re-issue for at least 10 years.

Selection of pilot regions for the introduction of an electronic passport

In June 2014, the FMS, the Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications, the Ministry of Economic Development and the Ministry of Finance prepared a draft decree of the President of the Russian Federation "On the issuance and use of an identity card for a new generation citizen of the Russian Federation."

According to the document, the certificate will become the main document confirming the identity of a citizen of Russia (i.e. replace the internal Russian passport). In pilot regions, it is planned to be put into effect on January 1, 2015.

The certificate will be a plastic card with an electronic storage medium, on which personal data of a citizen (including biometric data), as well as means and keys of a qualified electronic signature will be recorded in visual (graphic) and electronic form.

From January 1, 2015, the FMS must ensure the issuance of plastic certificates in the Republic of Crimea, the city of Sevastopol, the Krasnodar Territory and the Rostov Region, according to the draft presidential decree.

FMS and Rostec agreed on cooperation in the framework of the project to create an electronic passport

In February 2014, the head of the FMS of Russia Konstantin Romodanovsky and the general director of Rostec Sergey Chemezov signed a cooperation agreement as part of the project to create an electronic passport of a citizen of the Russian Federation.

"An electronic passport will not only greatly simplify for citizens all the procedures for passing which an identity card is required, but will also help improve the FMS accounting systems," Romodanovsky said. "At the same time, using the potential of Rostec enterprises will create an electronic document that meets all modern requirements."

According to Chemezov, the project plans to use the developments of Rostec enterprises in the field of IT, security and encryption. "Rostec has all the necessary competencies for the implementation of this project," he said.

The system integrator Regionkom, at that time controlled by the RT-Invest holding, in which Rostec owns 25.01%, and the management company Tsaritsyn Capital owns 74.99%, should "coordinate the interaction" of Rostec and the FMS, according to the information provided in the state corporation's message.

2013

Church vs. e-passport

The Bishops' Council of the Russian Orthodox Church in 2013 opposed the forced and uncontested use by citizens of electronic methods of accounting and identification of individuals. This was stated in a document adopted at the Council of Bishops: "The Church considers unacceptable any form of coercion of citizens to use electronic identifiers, automated means of collecting, processing and recording personal data and personal confidential information"^[21]

Calculation of expenses and income related to electronic passport

Federal budget revenues in 2014-2020 from the introduction of a system of electronic internal identity cards of a citizen of the Russian Federation (passports) by 20 billion rubles will exceed the costs for these purposes. This was stated in the materials of the Ministry of Economic Development with reference to the information of the Federal Migration Service (FMS).</ref>

According to the FMS, the state budget expenditures on the creation, implementation and support of the internal electronic passport system in 2014-2020 will amount to 82.8 billion rubles. At the same time, the state will receive income from levying state duties on citizens for issuing new documents. The FMS proposes to establish it at the level of 1 thousand rubles for issuing an electronic passport to adults and 500 rubles for children under 14 years old and citizens over 60 years old. It is proposed to take 2.4 thousand rubles for replacing the passport instead of the lost one.

The total income states from the collection of duties for issued passports in 2014-2020 will be equal to 103.2 billion rubles, which will allow the budget to earn more than 20 billion rubles from the implementation of the system.

In addition, the FMS expects that reducing the cost of consumables and special printing equipment currently used to make paper passports will have an economic effect of about two billion rubles more.

New version of the bill, the beginning of issuance has been shifted to 2016

Paper passports will be issued in Russia until 2025 and valid until 2030 , the head of FMSKonstantin Romodanovsky reported at a meeting of the legal commission on the use of IT to improve the quality of life and business conditions on September 19, 2013.

According to Romodanovsky, the concept and plan for the introduction of new documents with an electronic storage medium have already been approved, and the FMS is engaged in their implementation together with federal authorities.

The basis for such a document should be a law on the main document certifying the identity of a citizen of Russia, he added. The FMS developed such a law, published it for public discussion and re-sent it to the departments for consideration.

A layout of a plastic card, in the form of which an electronic passport will exist, has also been developed. According to Romodanovsky, the document will be made using pancake-free technology, using innovative protective elements and several types of protected printing, including Oryol printing.

When personalizing an electronic passport, multi-layer color photography will be applied, consisting of elements made by different technologies in different layers of the document, which, according to the authorities, should ensure a high degree of its protection against forgery.

"This document will not be inferior to our biometric passport, it will even exceed it. Identity card will be issued from birth, photo - from the age of six, "- said the head of the FMS

If there are electronic signatures on the identity card, citizens will be able to uniquely identify in the electronic environment, for example, when signing contracts via the Internet, Romodanovsky added.

It is planned to put into commercial operation a system for issuing electronic identity cards throughout Russia in 2016. The warranty life of the card should be 10 years. It is planned to start work on their pilot use in 2015. For this, according to Konstantin Romodanovsky, in 2014 it is planned to choose four to five regions advanced in terms of communication channels.

The first bill on the electronic passport of a citizen of Russia

On February 19, 2013, Deputy Head of the Federal Migration Service (FMS) Sergey Kalyuzhny said that in the near future his department plans to submit to the government a bill on electronic identification of a citizen, which over time should replace paper passports. He spoke about this at a meeting with Communications Minister Nikolai Nikiforov and President of the authorized organization "UEC" Aleksei Popov. The bill is expected to go to government on March 1, 2013.

Nikolai Nikiforov at this meeting said that in addition to its main function - identity cards - an electronic passport should contain the entire volume of services that will be provided using a universal electronic card (UEC).

We can say that UEC will become the forerunner of an electronic identity card: all technological developments and infrastructure created within the framework of this project are planned to be used when switching to electronic passports.

Like the UEC, the electronic passport will be the size of a regular bank card. To issue it, as well as to issue a paper passport, you will have to pay the state duty. In a conversation with TAdviser, Sergei Kalyuzhny suggested that in this case the state duty may be slightly higher than for a paper passport.

Kalyuzhny also said that information about the registration of a citizen will not be recorded in the electronic passport.

"There is a database. Whoever is supposed to check the registration data. We are already, for example, transmitting such information to the Federal Tax Service, "he says.

The deputy head of the FMS adds that in form, an electronic passport can be called an analogue of ID-cards that operate in European countries.

Before entering the government, the bill on electronic identity card must be approved by various departments. According to Sergei Kalyuzhny, among the proposals that the FMS has already received are the possibility of issuing electronic passports to citizens under the age of 14 and introducing a provision regulating the procedure for restoring an electronic passport when it is lost.

According to the draft law developed by the FMS, the issuance of electronic passports should begin on January 1, 2015. However, according to Kalyuzhny, this date in the final text of the document can be changed. The bill also provides for a transitional period during which electronic and paper identity cards will circulate in parallel. The end of this period in the document is indicated 2025.

An identification application (ID) is supposed to be placed on an electronic identity card, as well as on a universal electronic card, with the help of which it will be possible to verify the identity of the card holder, receive government and commercial services and make payments in an electronic environment.

See also

• Electronic passport of a citizen of Russia
• Biometric passport of Russia
• System for the manufacture and issue of passport and visa documents of a new type (biopasports)
• Mir System - Release of New Type Passports (HS PVDNP)
• Information Security - Biometric Identification
• Biometrics and Border Control
• Electronic Military ID
• Electronic passport of the facility
• Electronic Passport (Rostec)
• Systems of electronic passports of vehicles in the countries of the Customs Union

• Action (Dіya) service of public services of Ukraine
• My Number (digital passports in Japan)
• Electronic passport of a Finnish citizen
• Estonian e-citizenshipID card in Estonia
• ID card in Uzbekistan
• Digital ID of Malaysia
• Digitalization of the British Passport Office (Her Majesty's Passport Office, HMPO)

Notes