Actual Issues of Ethnic Minorities’ Integration in the Context of Nation Construction

Abstract

Strategies of interconnection of social and ethnic systems as well as ethnic entities – ethnos, ethnic groups, national minorities as components of politically organized social space – depend on two main development models of present day ethno-social and cultural processes, singled out by Russian researches: i.e. demotic one and ethnic one.Demotic type of state is based on the centripetal model. It’s aimed at the integration of different ethnic groups in the society. This ideology means merger of minorities’ cultures into one common culture. Ethnic communities are gradually losing certain ethnic boundaries, specifics of ethno-cultural characteristics and are being dissolved in the society, making it a little bit culturally identical. As a result of integration process there emerges culturally and politically heterogeneous nation-state community.Processes of centralization, political space unification within a country can’t be infinite and boundless. There exist so called “limiters”, for example vast territory and its lopsided development, apparent multicultural and multi-confessional character of the people inhabiting Russia, present-day political situation, brining democratic values and equal rights to the spotlight, inertia of the territories and so on. External factors also restrain unitarizing tendency. They are high standards of economic increase overseas demonstrating attractive patterns to follow, economic integration and globalization trends within global village, support of the minorities’ rights in the international legal documents and their recognition in Russia. Conception of minorities is excluded from Russian academic and political agenda because ideology of the minorities has failed. Support of minorities is associated with policy of separatism, destructive conflicts, radicalism and aggression of those groups. Ignoring ethnic and cultural specifics and the right to preserve cultural identity and minorities’ institutions splits the society and becomes the factor of erosion of national unity.Global experience of multiculturalism proves that there is no any unified norm and form of this phenomenon; on the contrary there is wide range of national patterns to accommodate cultural pluralism satisfying national challenges and needs.It means that in Russia multiculturalism must pursue the following national goals and objectives:1) manage Russian multinational population on the way of federalism development, meaning practice of multinational federalism;2) solve ethnic and cultural issues of numerous diasporas on the territory of Russian Federation; 3) integrate migrants and immigrants as well as legitimate workforce from overseas;4) create favorable internal policy basis for protecting interests of compatriots and Russian speaking people outside Russian Federation in the direction of nationalism of external historical motherland.