fedya,

They had to go to Matyushka Rossiya.

Y’know, the more I think about it the fishier this whole Russian passport issue becomes.
The Soviet system, which was inherited by Russia, Ukraine and probably most of the other independent states, doesn’t have a unitary “passport” like we think of. In general usage, “passport” means your identity papers (they don’t use driver’s licenses like we do). I’m not sure, but I think that resident aliens have to get an internal passport of the country in which they reside. (Any expats in FSU countries to set us straight?) An external passport that allows the holder to travel to different countries is a different thing. The applicant must explain why it is needed, and, I think it must be renewed for each trip. (The infamous “exit visa” of Soviet times.)

A Russian citizen in Ukraine wouldn’t have the right to a work permit and would have to lavishly grease palms for a business permit, so, aside from employees and dependents of the Russian military in Sevastopol, there aren’t very many resident Russian citizens living there.