KHUJAND, February 2, 2009, Asia-Plus  -- The number of residents of the northern Sughd province seeking Russian citizenship has considerably increased.

Speaking in interview with Asia-Plus, Andrey Kopylov, counselor with the Russian General Consulate in Khujand, said that compared to 2006 the number of local residents having applied to the consulate for the Russian citizenship increased four times last year.  Russian diplomat refrained from saying how many citizenship applications they have received.

According to him, among those having applied for the Russian citizenship are mainly immediate relatives of Tajik nationals that already have the Russian citizenship and persons having graduated from Russian universities.