A propiska (Russian: пропи́ска) was both a residency permit and a migration-recording tool - in the Russian Empire before 1917 and in the Soviet Union from the 1930s. Literally, the word propiska means "inscription", alluding to the inscription in a state internal passport permitting a person to reside in a given place. For a state or third-party owned property, propiska meant a person was included in the rental contract associated with a dwelling. Propiska was documented in local police (Militsiya) registers and certified with a stamp in internal passports. Residing anywhere without a permit was prohibited.