Legal protection of linguistic diversity in Russia: past and present

Russia is unique in its size and ethnic composition. There is a further linguistic complexity of more than 150 co-existing languages. Notwithstanding this diversity, the claims of linguistic minorities in Russia were traditionally neglected, first in imperial Russia and later in the Soviet politics and law. The political processes undergone from the middle of the 1980s have reactivated the awareness of identity in many linguistic communities of the new Russian Federation. Their aspirations demanded the most suitable legal and political initiatives to create the necessary conditions for the preservation of minority languages. How these demands have been reflected in the current legal framework is analysed in the paper