Uzbek woman finally replaces Soviet passport after 30 years of delays

Bureaucracy and personal struggles kept her tied to the past. Now, after three decades, Onarhol Kubayeva finally holds a post-Soviet identity.

, and Administrator

2026 March 16 . 1:06 PM

1 min read

The image shows an old document with a stamp on it, which appears to be a document from the Soviet... — The image shows an old document with a stamp on it, which appears to be a document from the Soviet Union. The document has text written on it and two stamps on the right side.

Uzbek woman finally replaces Soviet passport after 30 years of delays

A woman in Uzbekistan's Samarkand region has finally received a new ID card after living with a Soviet passport for more than three decades. Onarhol Kubayeva, born on December 21, 1972, had kept the outdated document due to personal challenges and bureaucratic delays. Local authorities stepped in to resolve the issue earlier this month.

Kubayeva's Soviet passport remained in use long after the collapse of the USSR. Despite the passage of time, she had never replaced it, partly because of difficult family circumstances and a lack of attention to administrative procedures. The situation persisted until officials from the justice and migration departments intervened.

A new identification card was finally issued to her on March 14, 2026. The case highlights how some individuals, even decades later, still rely on old Soviet documents. Meanwhile, in Russia, over 1,500 citizens updated their passports in 2024 alone, though no official figures confirm how many still hold Soviet-era papers.

The issuance of Kubayeva's new ID marks the end of her reliance on a Soviet-era document. Local authorities ensured the process was completed without further delays. Her case serves as a reminder of the lingering effects of outdated paperwork in former Soviet regions.