I am a citizen of the Russian Federation but I have been living abroad since 1998. I live in Australia but I am still registered in Russia in a three-room apartment. My mother, her husband (step-father) and my sister with her husband are registered at the same address. I do not pretend to receive a part of the apartment as I am not panning to return to Russia at the moment. As my mother with her husband and my sister with her husband do not get on and fight all the time it became unbearable for them to live in one apartment and they decided to change the apartment. As I have already mentioned I am also registered in the apartment and my mother says that they can not sell the apartment without my written consent. I am 24 years old. In case I do not want to have any part of the apartment, my mother is the main tenant and I haven’t been living in that apartment for more than 2 years, can’t they solve this matter without me??? I can’t go there at the moment. When my mother got divorced she de-registered my father on the basis of his absence and neighbors witnessed that they haven’t seen him at that address for more than 6 months. How can I solve this problem? Thank you.

I live in America and have a student visa. Can I change my last and first name? Where can I do it?

My future husband is a citizen of Canada. He will come to see me in Russia in June and will stay for 3 weeks. We want to register our marriage during these three weeks. I know that an application shall be filed one month prior to the proposed marriage date. Can I file an application on behalf of my future husband by virtue of a power of attorney issued by him so that we can plan his visa and our marriage beforehand? Thanking you in anticipation.

A husband and a wife have been married for 10 years. They had a quarrel and the wife applied for divorce but didn't say anything to the husband. They made up the quarrel while the case was under examination. She appeared before the court without the husband. The case was examined without her. and from the first time the people were divorced (the judge told them to receive the papers in 10 days). Are judge's actions lawful?

I dated a married man for 3 years. The man has got minor child (17 years). I will have a child from him. We decided to get married so he shall divorce. This is the main problem. When he filed a divorce application his wife was not against. But for some reason they were given a 1 month term. Upon expiration of the term he appeared before the court without his wife as she had a heart attack at that day and was taken to hospital. We know that she did it on purpose. The court postponed hearing of the case for 2 weeks. And we do not have time. We have to register our marriage as soon as possible. Why wasn't the marriage terminated in her absence? What about Art. 23 of the Family Code? What will happen in case she doesn't appear before the court in 2 weeks or says that she is against the divorce? What is the time limit for such procedure? What can we do in this situation? Thanks for the answer.

After divorce in 2002 my husband and I concluded a written agreement with regard to our mutual obligations. In particular, my ex-husband undertook an obligation to leave St. Petersburg and live with his mother in her apartment in Tver. I undertook an obligation not to get married until our daughter finishes school. After divorce my husband went to Tver. In August 2003 our mutual friend told me that my ex-husband is going to buy an apartment in St. Petersburg in violation of our agreement. I want to dispute the sale/purchase contract and make him leave St. Petersburg. What laws can be applicable in this case and how can I control his actions in future?

I live abroad. My husband is a foreigner. My first child and I are Russian citizens. We have an apartment in Russia and we are registered there. Do I have a right to receive a maternity capital? In case I have, what are the terms for submission of all required documents? Is my mother entitled to submit all necessary documents by virtue of a power of attorney? A birth certificate will be issued and the child will be registered in my passport in a Russian Consulate. My child will have dual citizenship. Thanking you in anticipation.

I want to change my name. I addressed a civil records office but was refused referring to the fact that I was born in Ukraine and shall address a civil records office in Ukraine. But I have no possibility to go to Ukraine. I live in Neryungi. When I showed your reply to the head of the civil records office she asked me: "What shall we do with this copy of the registry record?". Please, tell me what to do.

My husband and I are Russian citizens. Our child was born in Ukraine and received a birth certificate in Ukrainian. Prior to departure to Ukraine we visited our civil records office to get a consultation concerning documents we will need to obtain; we were told that we will need a notarized translation of the certificate in Ukrainian. Upon return to Russia we applied to a civil records office for the purpose of obtaining a Russian birth certificate but were refused. Civil records officers said that we would have to use the Ukrainian certificate with the translation into Russian until the child receives a passport. Are they right? We also took legal advice, a lawyer advised us to obtain an apostille but we didn't understand for which purposes.

Is a Russian Consulate entitled to refuse to register a Russian citizen in the consulate in the country of residence in case a citizen is not de-registered in Russia?