National Minorities in Putin's Russia: Diversity and Assimilation

Russia has a very large number of ethnic minorities, some of them very numerous, both native peoples and recent migrants. At a time when Russians have been reasserting Russian nationalism, there have been major problems of xenophobia and hate crime. This book, based on extensive original research, examines the treatment of national minorities in contemporary Russia. It contrasts the law and the rhetoric of "ethnic federalism" and "national cultural autonomies", which allegedly favour ethnic diversity and ethnic equality, on the one hand, with how policies are applied in practice, showing how cultural homogenisation and the exclusion of people from ethnic minorities are widespread. The book includes discussion of the role of international law, international human rights standards, and the Russian courts, and the role of education and the media. It concludes that a legalistic approach to securing ethnic minority rights is not sufficient, that Russia’s homogenising centralism stems more from Putin’s approach to power than to the revival of Russian nationalism, and that Russia frequently treats international institutions and conventions on minority rights with defiance and neglect