MOSCOW--Russia is preparing a bill that will simplify the process of granting Russian citizenship to citizens of the Commonwealth of Independent States, a grouping of the former Soviet Union countries that includes Ukraine, a deputy speaker of Russia's lower house of parliament, Alexander Zhukov, was quoted as saying by Interfax news agency Thursday.
Russian parliament factions, the presidential administration, and the government are looking into the issue, Mr. Zhukov said.
On Wednesday the speaker of the upper house of parliament, Valentina Matvienko, said that granting citizenship to citizens of Ukraine in a simplified fashion is "untimely" at this stage.
Ukraine has gone through three months of mass protests, the ouster of former president Viktor Yanukovych and a major government reshuffle. Crimea saw a massive rally in front of a local parliament building in Simferopol on Wednesday, with both pro-European and pro-Russian protesters.
Crimea--a Black Sea peninsula that belonged to Russia until 1954 and remains dominated by ethnic Russians--has swiftly become the epicenter of a backlash against the Kiev protesters who toppled Mr. Yanukovych. As his opponents build a new government, some of the more radical Russian locals in Crimea are demanding the autonomous region secede or once again become part of Russia.
But Crimean Tatars--indigenous Muslims who account for about 12% of Crimea's population of two million people--are the exception. Their strained relations with Russia go back centuries, and many bristle at the idea of their homeland moving farther into Moscow's orbit. Hundreds traveled to Kiev during the demonstrations to support the pro-Europe camp. In Crimea, they have become the most powerful local advocates for recognizing the new powers and remaining part of Ukraine.
Write to Olga Razumovskaya at Olga.Razumovskaya@wsj.com
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