Source:

General information on ethnic minorities [ID 16953]

For information on ethnically motivated discrimination please refer to the chapter Human Rights Issues - Ethnic affiliation.

07.04.2006 - Source: Council of Europe - Parliamentary Assembly

North Caucasus: Report on cultural diversity in the region (general, historical and religious background, current situation, conclusions) ("Cultural diversity of the North Caucasus [Doc.10869]") [#48898],  [ID 16957]

"The North Caucasus region of the Russian Federation, with 6.5 million inhabitants, comprises the following republics: Adygea, Karachaevo-Cherkessia, Kabardino-Balkaria, North Ossetia-Alania, Ingushetia, Chechnya and Dagestan. It is a unique geographical, cultural, historical and linguistic region in which over forty indigenous peoples with different cultures and religions have settled and co-exist. There are numerous diasporas of peoples from the Southern Caucasus. It is a region of immense cultural wealth and diversity and its peoples speak some forty languages and dialects belonging to the following language families: Indo-European (Ossetian), Caucasian (Adyghe, Avar, Dargin, Ingush, Kabardian, Chechen, Cherkessian and others) and Altaic (Balkar, Karachay). The inhabitants belong to six religions: Judaism, Buddhism (the Kalmyk people), Christianity (Orthodox, Monophysitic) and Islam (Sunni, Shiite). There is no other region in Russia or Eurasia in general in which so many peoples and ethnic groups with their various languages and cultures live together in such a small area.

Historical background:
The peoples of the North Caucasus – of Turkic, Caucasian, Mongolian, Indo-European and Semitic origin – live alongside each other in an isolated and mountainous region that has often served to preserve these multiple identities. The region can be divided into two parts: a relatively peaceful area in the west and an area that has been marked by unrest since the beginning of the 19th century, in particular Chechnya, Ingushetia and Dagestan.
The Russian presence in the plains of the North Caucasus dates from the 12th century, but it was from the 18th century onwards under Peter the Great that Russia conducted several wars against Persia and the Ottoman Empire and succeeded in imposing its control over this region. In 1774, Russia signed with the Ottoman Empire the Treaty of Kuchuk-Kainarji, under which the Ottoman Empire recognised that the territories in the North Caucasus plain belonged to imperial Russia.
This region is affected by a number of micro-crises, the most highly publicised being the one in Chechnya. In the North Caucasus, ethnic tensions are compounded by religious factors."

Document(s): Open document

03.06.2005 - Source: Council of Europe - Parliamentary Assembly

National-cultural autonomy only for Russian citizens; no comprehensive laws providing protection against discrimination in education and housing ("Honouring of obligations and commitments by the Russian Federation [Doc. 10568]") [#32710],  [ID 11022]

"413. In 1996, Russia adopted the Federal Law on National-Cultural Autonomy. In its September 2002 Opinion on the Russian Federation (ACFC/INF/OP/I(2003)005), the Advisory Committee on the Framework Convention noted that the 1996 law restricts, in its Article 1, the notion of national-cultural autonomy to citizens of the Russian Federation only. Bearing in mind that the law at issue is considered by the authorities of the Russian Federation to be a central normative element in the implementation of the Framework Convention, the Advisory Committee found it important that its personal scope of application was brought in line with the inclusive approach under the Framework Convention so as to ensure that also non-citizens belonging to the minorities concerned can benefit from the said law.

414. In this regard, we have to report that the Russian authorities have not complied with this opinion since the current Law on National Cultural Autonomy (revised on 10 November 2003, 29 July and 22 August 2004) still has this narrow scope of application.

415. The Advisory Committee also pointed to the lack of detailed and comprehensive civil and/or administrative law provisions pertaining to discrimination in a number of pertinent fields, such as education and housing. The Advisory Committee was of the opinion that it would be desirable to develop such legislation in order to protect, in a comprehensive manner, individuals from discrimination by both public authorities and private entities."

Document(s): Open document

20.04.2005 - Source: Council of Europe - Commissioner for Human Rights

National cultural autonomous entities and their role in preserving the culture of different ethnic groups ("Report by Mr. Alvaro Gil-Robles, Commissioner for Human Rights, on his visit to the Russian Federation, 15-30 July 2004 and 19-20 September 2004 [CommDH(2005) 2]") [#32581],  [ID 11023]

"186. The National Cultural Autonomy Act was passed in June 1996 and provides the legal and political framework for the development of national minorities. National cultural autonomous entities exist at federal, regional and local level. They correspond to voluntary associations of citizens defined by their ethnic, national or religious affiliations. They are national and cultural self-governing bodies which play a key part in preserving, developing and disseminating the languages, cultures, traditions and customs of different ethnic groups. In 2004, there were more than 300 national cultural autonomous entities, 15 of them at federal level.

187. The Russian Federation government‘s Consultative Council on National Cultural Autonomy helps to draw up federal proposals in this area and makes an important contribution to protecting national minority rights.

188. There are inter-ethnic associations and councils in several subjects of the Federation. For example, the Tatarstan association of national cultural autonomous entities brings together more than thirty nationalities, such as Tatars, Germans, Ukrainians, Armenians, Azeris and Assyrians. Such organisations facilitate dialogue at the highest level. They are also consultative bodies and take part in debates on the nationalities question at the regional and local levels. They are normally provided with premises where they can hold meetings or organise cultural activities. In many regions, they are called “houses of friendship between peoples“, a title that goes back to Soviet times but to which Russians remain very attached.

189. I met a number of representatives of cultural autonomous entities during my visit, often in these friendship houses. I particularly appreciated the ones in Yekaterinburg and Kazan, which were modern and welcoming cultural centres offering local associations premises and qualified and willing staff to help them organise cultural and educational activities.

190. The association representatives I met spoke of their constructive dialogue with local and regional authorities. They stressed the importance of the latter‘s support in preserving and developing national languages and cultures and in the religious renaissance of the different communities."

Document(s): Open document

20.04.2005 - Source: Council of Europe - Commissioner for Human Rights

Assembly of the Peoples of Russia and further statutory protection for national minority rights ("Report by Mr. Alvaro Gil-Robles, Commissioner for Human Rights, on his visit to the Russian Federation, 15-30 July 2004 and 19-20 September 2004 [CommDH(2005) 2]") [#32581],  [ID 11024]

"191. The Assembly was established in 1998 and represents another forum for debate. It is made up of representatives of national cultural autonomous entities, public associations and organisations with an ethnic, cultural and/or religious basis. It fosters dialogue between ethnic minorities and between the latter and federal, regional and local authorities and monitors respect for minority rights.

192. In addition to the National Cultural Autonomy Act and the Assembly of the Peoples of Russia, there is further statutory protection for national minority rights, including several articles of the Constitution (in particular 26, 28, 29 and 69), and legislation on the rights of small indigenous peoples, citizenship, education and the media, and freedom of religious association. The legal framework was strengthened in 2002 by legislation on citizenship of the Russian Federation, on the legal status of foreigners residing in the Russian Federation and the law on combating extremism."

Document(s): Open document

20.04.2005 - Source: Council of Europe - Commissioner for Human Rights

Ministry for Federation Affairs, Nationalities, and Migration Policies abolished ("Report by Mr. Alvaro Gil-Robles, Commissioner for Human Rights, on his visit to the Russian Federation, 15-30 July 2004 and 19-20 September 2004 [CommDH(2005) 2]") [#32581],  [ID 11025]

"193. However, the Russian Federation Ministry for Federation Affairs, Nationalities, and Migration Policies, set up in 2001, was recently abolished. The nationalities question and respect for national minority rights are now the responsibility of the Russian Federation Regional Development Minister, currently Mr Vladimir Yakovlev."

Document(s): Open document

20.04.2005 - Source: Council of Europe - Commissioner for Human Rights

National minority representatives actively participate in political life ("Report by Mr. Alvaro Gil-Robles, Commissioner for Human Rights, on his visit to the Russian Federation, 15-30 July 2004 and 19-20 September 2004 [CommDH(2005) 2]") [#32581],  [ID 11026]

"194. I mainly visited national territorial entities, but I also wanted to meet representatives of all the nationalities concerned. This served to strengthen my initial impressions concerning the degree of co-operation and understanding between the various nationalities living in the same area, whatever their demographic importance. The fact that minorities were generally represented on local and regional authorities helped to foster harmony. I would like to describe my experience in the autonomous okrug, or region, of Khanty-Mansiysk in Siberia, where I saw how the international, constitutional, federal and statutory protection for national minorities was reflected in practice. The governor of the region is of Russian origin, the deputy prime minister is from Dagestan and the foreign minister is Tatar. This is the situation throughout Russia, whose multiethnic and multicultural character is always apparent and testifies to the richness of its human relations.

195. Generally speaking, minority representatives participate actively in public affairs. This does vary from region to region but the principle is generally respected.

196. I also met representatives of the diasporas and of community organisations in most of the regions I visited. They all spoke of their dose collaboration with authorities who respected minority rights. For example, the Germans living in Tatarstan said that their cultural and religious renaissance owed much to their co-operation with the republican and local authorities.

197. The regional and local authorities are key participants in ethnic dialogue and the development of national minorities. They pay dose attention to cultural and religious associations and organisations. Their willingness to listen to ethnic groups and their political commitment make a direct contribution to the development of national minorities.

198. This close relationship also applies between regions. There are several bilateral treaties and agreements between neighbouring republics, such as those reached by Tatarstan with Chuvashi and Bashkortostan in, respectively, 1992 and 1994.

199. Other steps are taken to strengthen dialogue such as congresses, conferences and other forms of consultation at all political and administrative levels."

Document(s): Open document

20.04.2005 - Source: Council of Europe - Commissioner for Human Rights

Cultural development of minorities: national cultural centres and schools ("Report by Mr. Alvaro Gil-Robles, Commissioner for Human Rights, on his visit to the Russian Federation, 15-30 July 2004 and 19-20 September 2004 [CommDH(2005) 2]") [#32581],  [ID 11027]

"201. […] The country‘s national, regional and local authorities are demonstrably concerned to preserve and develop national languages and cultures, which I welcome. I visited national cultural centres in all the regions I travelled to. I also sought to visit as many secondary schools as possible, particularly ones with teaching in minority languages. It is at school that young persons can and must acquire the foundations of their ethnic as well as their national culture. Far from being incompatible, the two are mutually reinforcing. I was able to see that the cultures of minority peoples were holding up well and that efforts were made not only to preserve them but also to help them to flower.

202. The cultural centres I visited promote the specific culture, language, history and life style of the nationality they represent. Their activities are varied and are aimed at all age groups. They range from language courses to support for the elderly, and include the formation of choirs or ethnic theatre groups, often of a very high artistic standard. What I particularly appreciated though was that these centres did not operate in a spirit of isolation. Much was done to bring cultures and individuals together and draw specific cultures to the attention of other minority or majority groups. Multi-ethnic activities are a regular occurrence and help to strengthen mutual understanding. One example is the annual festival of national cultures in Krasnodar. Most of the region‘s ethnic groups are represented, except the Meskhetian Turks, to whom I shall return below."

Document(s): Open document

20.04.2005 - Source: Council of Europe - Commissioner for Human Rights

4000 newspapers published in national languages; many channels broadcasted in national languages face financial problems ("Report by Mr. Alvaro Gil-Robles, Commissioner for Human Rights, on his visit to the Russian Federation, 15-30 July 2004 and 19-20 September 2004 [CommDH(2005) 2]") [#32581],  [ID 11028]

"205. The written press, radio and television all help to keep national languages alive and in active use. Some 4000 newspapers in national languages are published across the country. In Krasnodar region, seven national languages are represented in the press: Russian, Armenian, Adyg, Georgian, Kurdish, German and Greek. However, although most subjects of the Federation have their own radio and television channels in national languages, Russian remains the main language of broadcasting. There are many channels and programmes in national languages but they do not always receive state financial support and find it difficult to achieve continuity of programming. However, these difficulties should not mask the successes. In Khanty-Mansiysk, for example, I met representatives of the Tatar cultural autonomy entity who told me about a regional television channel in the Tatar language, which is apparently doing well, with interesting programmes and a daily audience that is constantly rising."

Document(s): Open document

20.04.2005 - Source: Council of Europe - Commissioner for Human Rights

Great freedom for national minority groups in education; education in national languages remains often restricted to the language classes ("Report by Mr. Alvaro Gil-Robles, Commissioner for Human Rights, on his visit to the Russian Federation, 15-30 July 2004 and 19-20 September 2004 [CommDH(2005) 2]") [#32581],  [ID 11029]

"206. The right to education in national languages exists in the republics and the other administrative entities that make up the Russian Federation. Instruction in the mother tongue mainly takes place in nursery, primary and secondary schools. Minority representatives have great freedom in this respect since any group of citizens, and not just autonomous entities, may open a minority language primary or secondary school. We heard, for example, of Tatar, Jewish and Ukrainian schools in Moscow, St Petersburg and other regions.

207. In certain republics such as Tatarstan this measure has been extended to higher education. The republic‘s authorities have recently approved the establishment of a Tatar university.

208. The Federation‘s schools offer teaching in 38 languages. Nearly 75 languages are also taught as a separate subject. Several approaches are used in primary and certain secondary schools, depending on the policy adopted and the financial and material resources available. In some schools the education is purely in the national language, be it in history, literature, maths, biology or physics. Others combine national language teaching with teaching in Russian or one of the region‘s other official languages (Tatar in Tatarstan, for example). Where teaching is only in the national language, Russian will be taught as an additional subject.

209. In most cases though, national language teaching is confined to language classes, particularly given the shortage of staff capable of teaching specialist subjects in minority languages. This teacher shortage could impede the transmission of languages through schools. We were told that special efforts have been made to prepare and publish textbooks in national languages in subjects like history and the life sciences. However such initiatives suffer from lack of finance and other resources. The process should certainly be continued and expanded."

Document(s): Open document

2004 - Source: Federal'naya sluzhba gosudarstvennoy statistiki

Population census 2002 - ethnic groups ("Natsional'naya prinadlezhnost' i vladeniye russkym yazikom") [ID 11030]

Document(s): Natsional'naya prinadlezhnost' i vladeniye russkym yazikom

2004 - Source: Russlandanalysen

Population census 2002 - ethnic groups ("Nationalitätenstatistik 2002 (in German)") [ID 11030]

Document(s): Nationalitätenstatistik 2002 (in German)

04.2002 - Source: UK Home Office

UK Home Office: Of the Russian Federation's 89 regions, 21 are ethnically defined republics ("Country Assessment - April 2002") [#7107],  [ID 11031]

"Since the early 1990s, the struggle for power between the federal authorities and the ethno-territorial units has gradually transformed the Russian Federation from a unitary empire into something that resembles a federation. Of the Russian Federation's 89 regions, 21 are ethnically defined republics, which enjoy considerable degrees of autonomy codified through treaties with Moscow. Those minorities with their own officially recognised territory usually have significant advantages over other minority populations in the Russian Federation, although in some autonomous areas with high concentrations of Slavic settlers, the minority groups face problems similar to those of minorities lacking a formal homeland. Minorities that have been granted territorial recognition can be broadly divided into two categories: religious and linguistic minorities. This distinction does not reflect any official division between groups, based on religion or language, but rather the primary element around which group self-identity is formed in each case. Religiously defined groups form the largest set of minorities and include Buddhists, comprising Buryats, Kalmyks, and Tuvans; Muslims, comprising Middle Volga Tatars and Bashkirs, and the peoples of the north Caucasus, including Chechens, Ingush, Karachai and Cherkess, Kabards and Balkars, Adygei and Dagestanis; Christians, comprising Chuvash and Ossetians; and Shamanists, comprising Altai, Khakass, Yakuts, and native peoples of the north, Siberia and the Far East, including Nenets and Dolgan, Evenk, Chukchi and Koriaks. Linguistically defined groups form the second main category of minorities and include the Finno-Ugrian peoples, Karelians, Mari, Udmurts, Mordovans, Komi, Komi-Permiaks, Khants and Mansi. Meanwhile, leading minorities which lack an officially recognised homeland within the Russian Federation include, Jews, Ukrainians, Belarusians and Kazakhs, Russian or Volga Germans, Meskhetians or Meskhetian Turks, Roma, Cossacks and native peoples of the north, Siberia and the Far East."

Document(s): Open document

2002 - Source: NUPI - Centre for Russian Studies

Table of ethnic groups in the Russian Federation [ID 11032]

Document(s): Open document

07.1996 - Source: Library of Congress

According to the last official Soviet census, conducted in 1989, Russia comprises more than 100 nationalities ("Country Studies - Russia (data as of 1996): Ethnic groups") [ID 11033]

"Russia is a multinational state that has inherited many of the nationality problems that plagued the Soviet Union. The last official Soviet census, conducted in 1989, listed more than 100 nationalities. Several of those groups now predominantly inhabit the independent nations that formerly were Soviet republics. However, the Russian Federation--the most direct successor to the Soviet Union--still is home to more than 100 national minorities, whose members coexist uneasily with the numerically and politically predominant Russians. Besides the Slavs (Russians, Ukrainians, and Belarusians), who account for about 85 percent of Russia's population, three main ethnic groups and a handful of isolated smaller groups reside within the federation. The Altaic group includes mainly speakers of Turkic languages widely distributed in the middle Volga, the southern Ural Mountains, the North Caucasus, and above the Arctic Circle. The main Altaic peoples in Russia are the Balkars, Bashkirs, Buryats, Chuvash, Dolgans, Evenks, Kalmyks, Karachay, Kumyks, Nogay, and Yakuts. The Uralic group, consisting of Finnic peoples living in the upper Volga, the far northwest, and the Urals, includes the Karelians, Komi, Mari, Mordovians, and Udmurts. The Caucasus group is concentrated along the northern slopes of the Caucasus Mountains; its main subgroups are the Adyghs, Chechens, Cherkess, Ingush, and Kabardins, as well as about thirty Caucasus peoples collectively classified as Dagestani."

Document(s): Country Studies - Russia (data as of 1996): Ethnic groups

20.08.1993 - Source: The Red Book of the Peoples of the Russian Empire

Information on ethnic groups in the Russian Federation ("The Red Book of the Peoples of the Russian Empire") [ID 11034]

Document(s): The Red Book of the Peoples of the Russian Empire