Moscow’s Nationalities Policy Strategy: Analytical Review

Abstract

Today global cities are facing many challenges, including the rise of cultural diversity. This is particularly true for Moscow as the main center of gravity of migration flows in Russia. Although the recent population census displays that the demographic situation in Moscow differs considerably from that observed in European multicultural cities, some other data reveal a rapid grown in cultural diversity of its population. Even today, the “nationalities policy” of Moscow's authorities is still under influence of the controversial Soviet approach, which combined ethnic segregation on the state level with the formation of a homogeneous Russian-speaking urban culture. Thus, in the post-Soviet period it has constantly oscillated between inclusive strategies and discriminatory measures toward labor migrants. The elaboration of Moscow’s nationalities policy strategy, adopted in 2016, was a tentative to craft a more coherent approach to diversity management in the Russian biggest city. The article provides a critical analysis of this policy document. The authors argue that while the Strategy offers some conceptual and methodological tools to deal with cultural diversity, it does not fulfill any program of action. Notwithstanding the inclusive conception of the term “Muscovites”, the Strategy reiterates an ethnocentric view on cultural diversity. The concerns raised by the documents’ authors in regard to negative tendencies of increasing cultural pluralism seem to ignore real processes taking place in the urban space. Finally, while the Moscow authorities rely on the traditional interactions with ethnic and religious organizations, they seem to neglect the benefits of spontaneous civil activities. The authors emphasize that a successful diversity management strategy in Moscow would require a greater transparency. Other key factors include searching for a dynamic equilibrium between different groups’ interests, interacting with independent experts as well as evaluating positive and negative results of similar strategies as implemented in other global cities.