Lithuanian lawmakers have initiated a process to take away the citizenship of Moscow-born figure skater Margarita Drobiazko over her participation in an event in Russia in August 2022, Lithuania's National Radio and Television reported on June 21.
The move comes after lawmakers adopted a law in March that allows the revocation of citizenship of individuals who had been granted Lithuanian passports for outstanding contributions to the country's culture and sports but whose actions posed a threat to Lithuania's national security.
A final decision on stripping Drobiazko of citizenship would be made by President Gitanas Nauseda if the Interior Ministry hands him such a request.
In August 2022, Nauseda signed a decree depriving Drobiazko and her husband, Povilas Vanagas, who is also a well-known figure skater, of the Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas over their participation in the event in question, which was organized by Tatyana Navka, the wife of Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. Vanagas was born in Lithuania.
Nauseda called the couple's participation in the event in the Russian city of Sochi "cynical" and said the Lithuanian government’s decision to grant Drobiazko Lithuanian citizenship in 1993 "looks like a miserable farce" under the circumstances of Russia's ongoing unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.
After the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, Drobiazko started representing Lithuania in international figure-skating tournaments along with Vanagas. In 1993, she obtained Lithuanian citizenship, and seven years later the pair married. They have been residing in Moscow for many years.
The couple earned bronze medals in the 2000 World Championship and at the European Championships in 2000 and 2006.
Last year, Ukraine’s Olympic Committee sacked Olympic champion Viktor Petrenko from the post of vice president of the Ukrainian Figure Skating Federation (UFFK) and expelled him from the organization for taking part in Navka's event.