On October 16, 2024, the Institute of Philosophy and Law of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences hosted a theoretical seminar entitled "Peoples, Ethnic Communities, National Minorities: Ethnocultural Diversity in the Mirror of Russian Constitutionalism"
Speaker: Mochalov Artur Nikolaevich, PhD in Law, Associate Professor of the Department of Constitutional Law, Ural State Law University named after V. F. Yakovlev
Abstract:
As a result of the constitutional amendment of 2020, the principle of preserving ethnocultural and linguistic diversity, cultural identity of all peoples and ethnic communities of the country was enshrined in the Constitution of the Russian Federation.
The multicultural nature of the Russian state was recognized in the Constitution earlier: the people of the Russian Federation are called "multinational" in the Basic Law.
At the same time, the Constitution of the Russian Federation in various articles refers to various categories of ethnocultural groups: peoples (Article 5, Article 68), ethnic communities (Article 68), small ethnic communities (Article 71), indigenous small peoples (Article 69), national minorities (Articles 71 and 72). Finally, Article 68 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation introduces the concept of "state-forming people". The Strategy of the State National Policy of the Russian Federation also adds "nationalities" to the above list.
Of the listed categories, only indigenous minorities have received legal recognition in legislation. As for other types of ethnocultural groups, neither legislation nor strategic planning documents provide clear guidelines as to what the differences between them are and how individuals are assigned to a particular category. At the same time, the implementation of the principle of preserving ethnocultural diversity presupposes a more or less clear definition of the addressees of the measures of the state national policy used - especially in a situation where such addressees are directly listed in the Constitution.
The proposed report examines the main directions of the state national policy and legal regulation in the field of interethnic relations from the point of view of the addressees of the relevant measures. The approaches used in the Russian Federation (in academic science and in official discourse) to distinguishing between the concepts of “peoples”, “ethnic communities”, and “national minorities” are shown, and the trends in legal regulation are outlined in light of the termination of the Framework Convention of the Council of Europe for the Protection of National Minorities in relation to Russia.