1. According to Art. 27, part 2 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation any person may freely leave the Russian Federation. Art. 15 of the Law of the Russian Federation "Procedure for Departure from and Entry in the Russian Federation" provides for limitation of the RF citizens’ right to leave the Russian Federation. The list of the limitations is exhaustive. An RF citizen’s right to leave the Russian Federation may be temporarily limited in case the citizen:

1) has an access to state secrets;

2) has been called up for military service or civilian substitute service pursuant to the Laws of the Russian Federation;

3) has been detained on suspicion of having committed a crime or has been put on trial as an accused;

4) has been convicted of committing a crime;

5) evades obligations imposed on him/her by court;

6) has provided knowingly false information when executing the documents required for leaving the Russian Federation.

Art. 20, 21 of the abovementioned law establish a procedure for departure of minor citizens of the Russian Federation. As a rule, a minor citizen of the Russian Federation leaves the Russian Federation together with at least one of the parents. A court decides whether a minor citizen of the Russian Federation may leave the Russian Federation in case one of the parents protests against child’s departure.

Such protest shall be expressed by submission of a relevant claim PRIOR to departure of the minor child. There are no obstacles to departure of a child together with the mother if there is no father’s written protest.

Thus a special permit for departure of a minor child from the Russian Federation is not required. The law expressly provides that a child may leave abroad together with one of the parents and that is sufficient to leave the Russian Federation. Father’s consent is not required by the Law.

As the mother is a custodian parent according to the court decision she is entitled to take the decision about the child’s departure from the Russian Federation and she is responsible for life, health, protection of rights and legal interests of her minor son abroad.