National minorities and small indigenous peoples in Russia: legal problems of their identification

The Constitution of the Russian Federation has various concepts of ethnic communities, including national minorities and indigenous small-numbered peoples. Despite their constitutional distinction, these communities are sometimes considered synonymously in legislation, law enforcement practice, and doctrine. The specification of these concepts is further complicated by the fact that Russia ceased its participation in European international obligations protecting the rights of national minorities and withdrew from the Barents Euro-Arctic Council, including its dealings with problems of indigenous peoples. The question of Russia’s participation in the Arctic Council, whose activities also cover the rights of indigenous peoples, remains open. This article attempts to clarify the current legal status of national minorities and small indigenous small-numbered peoples in the Russian Federation. It discusses the historical prerequisites for the formation of these ethnic communities in the Russian Empire and during the Soviet period, the peculiarities of their identification from the standpoint of current Russian and international law, the correlation of these communities according to the catalog of rights guaranteed to them, and the methods of their acquiring and losing their corresponding status. In addition, the experience of defining national minorities and indigenous peoples in the Nordic countries (Sweden, Finland, Norway and Denmark) is examined in a comparative legal analysis. The authors conclude that national minorities and indigenous small-numbered peoples in the Russian Federation do have some similar features but still differ from each other. Indigenous are distinguished by their special historical connection with their ancestral territories of residence, which predetermines special legal regulation of the status of these peoples. Taking into account this circumstance, the article supports the usefulness of further development of Russian legislation on national minorities and indigenous small-numbered peoples, including taking into account the practices of foreign countries while noting their differences.