Fundamentals of the Strategy of the State National Policy of the Russian Federation and Improving the Conceptual Framework for Regulating Interethnic Relations

Abstract

An important aspect of the political history of post-Soviet Russia is the search for and formulation of the doctrinal foundations of state national policy. In this regard, the analysis of conceptual documents related to this area is of great importance. These include the Concept of State National Policy of the Russian Federation, adopted in 1996, and the Strategy of State National Policy of the Russian Federation for the period until 2025, approved in 2012. One of the key concepts in the latest document is the conception of “Russian nation”, meaning a community of all citizens of Russia, regardless of their ethnic origin. It seems important to consider the possible trends of evolution of this document, the adoption of which was an important milestone in the implementation of Russia’s nationality policy. Despite the civil, political and legal nature of the Russian nation, the ethnic Russian cultural core plays an important role in maintaining its unity. This circumstance was noted in the article “Russia: The National Question” (2012) written by V.V. Putin, many of the provisions of which formed the basis of the Strategy. In the future, it seems that the role of the ethnocultural factor in ensuring civil unity will be analyzed in more depth. A deeper study of the issue of the spiritual and moral foundations of a civil nation is also inevitable. The adoption of the Strategy has also become an important incentive for improving the institutional framework of state national policy, the development of which is given a large place in the program document.