ID Checks

I’m sure we have all seen those old World War 2 or Cold War Movies where either the Nazi or the Communist stops a Person and asks for their “Papers” and sometimes that Person is taken away and never heard from again.

While I never experienced that from a Nazi or a Communist it is still nerve-wracking to go through in-person (especially coming from an Open Society where that’s not allowed.)

I remember being stopped several times when I lived in Germany as a Teenager. The Polizei seemed to be shouting at you (of course in German) for your “Papers” and all the old scenes from the Nazi and East German Movies came back.

Of course, things ended differently in real life (I wasn’t sent to a Nazi Death Camp or a Communist Gulag) but let to go about my business.

I also remember being stopped all the time when I lived in Russia. In Russia anyone with any amount of authority is allowed to stop anyone in Public and ask for their “Documents.”

In Russia everyone is required to carry their Documents at all times (Russians have to carry their Internal Passports with their Registration Stamps – that allow them to either live or visit a Town  or City – and every Non-Russian has to carry their International Passport with their Russian Visa, their Russian Registration Stamps – that allow them to either live or visit a Town or City – and their Russian Migration Card.)

Failure to have everything with you, up-to-date or to pay the Mandatory Bribe to the Official will land you in Jail for at least 5 days.

Even when I spoke Fluent Russian I would speak in broken, loud Russian on purpose every time I was stopped for an Identity Check.

It let the Official think I didn’t understand what was going on (they just wanted a Bribe) and a few times things got heated when I refused to pay that I would take out my Cell Phone and say very loudly – so everyone around me could hear – that I was just going to call the American Embassy in Moscow so they could help me understand what was going on. The Official always left right then and there.

There was 1 ID Checkpoint at the University I was studying in one day. They were stopping every Man to check their Draft Status. It was during the 2nd Chechen War (1999-2009) and no one wanted to go and die in Chechnya.

 The Checkpoint happened the 1st time I lived in Russia and when I wasn’t fluent in Russian yet.

The Russian Police and Military Officers started shouting at me (in Russian obviously) and I didn’t

understand what they were saying. I had given them my Blue American Passport (Russian Internal and International Passports are Red) and my Russian Visa with Russian Registration Stamp and so thought it was all settled.

Clearly an American (my Non-Slavic Looking Features and my Blue American Passport) would tell them that I wasn’t required to serve in the Russian Military.

Maybe just wanted their Bribe, but anyways I ran past them and into the building by-passing the Coat Check (it’s required to turn in your coat and any large bags) and up the several flights of stairs to my Classroom with the Police and Military chasing after me.

I explained to the Head of the Department what was going on and she went out to explain everything to the Police and Military who then left.

I was told to bring in a Passport-Sized Picture the next day and was given a Student ID Card stating (in Russian) that I was an American Citizen (and not a Dual Russian Citizen) and so did not have to serve the Mandatory Time in the Russian Military as every Russian Man does.

I did ask the Department Head what would have happened to me and she said that they could have arrested me for 5 days for an ID Violation and then charged me with Draft Evasion and sent me to a Military Camp before going to fight in Chechnya (apparently in 2001 like in 2024 Russia just wants bodies for Cannon Fodder in their Wars.)

I have been asked for my ID or Passport other times before (in Costa Rica, Cyprus, Germany, Russia, The Netherlands, France, Italy, Croatia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Montenegro, Israel, The West Bank, Poland, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Ukraine) and had no issues after showing my Documents.

I once asked my Great-Aunt about her experiences when she travelled overseas (especially to the different Dictatorships in Spain, Portugal, East Germany, Poland, Cuba, Hungary, China and the Soviet Union.)

She said that she was stopped all the time (even when with a Tour Group of Western Tourists that had their own Stasi or KGB Tour Guide.)

Today, most of Latin America, Africa, Asia, the Middle East and Europe require their Citizens and Tourists to always carry their Identification with them at all times and can be stopped and asked for it.

Some places give you the option to show your Driver’s License, National ID Card or International Passport and some give you 1 -2 days to report to the Police if you don’t have your ID with you at the time you are checked.