Russia spans Eastern Europe and Northern Asia, bordered by Norway, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland (Kaliningrad Oblast) to the west; Belarus and Ukraine to the southwest; Georgia and Azerbaijan to the south; Kazakhstan, China and Mongolia to the southeast; and North Korea to the east, with coastlines on both the Arctic and Pacific Oceans. Russia has become a major destination for refugees, particularly from Ukraine, due to the ongoing conflict. Since February 2022, over 5.7 million refugees from Ukraine have arrived, many of whom are women and children. For refugees from Ukraine, Russia's government has facilitated access to legal status, including temporary asylum (TA) and residence permits. However, challenges remain regarding the recognition of domicile annotations in legal documents, integration into the social protection system, and overcoming language barriers. 

Russia is a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention, but not to the 1954 or 1961 Statelessness Conventions. A new nationality law, effective from October 2023, facilitates the naturalization of stateless persons, particularly those from the former Soviet Union. However, the law contains gaps in safeguards against statelessness, particularly for children born to stateless parents and individuals whose citizenship could be revoked under certain conditions.