in the Russian Federation, these are recognized as peoples living in the territories of the traditional settlement of their ancestors, preserving their way of life, farming and crafts, numbering less than 50 thousand people in the Russian Federation and recognizing themselves as independent ethnic communities. Unified list Ph.D. The Russian Federation is approved by the Government of the Russian Federation on the proposal of the authorities state power subjects of the Russian Federation in whose territories these peoples live.
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INDIGENOUS PEOPLES
concept used in the Constitution of the Russian Federation. According to Art. 69, the Russian Federation guarantees the rights of indigenous peoples in accordance with generally accepted principles and norms of international law and international treaties of the Russian Federation. The Constitution of the Russian Federation also uses the concept of “small ethnic communities”. For example, paragraph "m" art. 72 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation includes “the protection of the original habitat and traditional way of life of small ethnic communities” under the joint jurisdiction of the Russian Federation and the constituent entities of the Russian Federation.
International documents use the concepts " indigenous people", "indigenous people": for example, in the International Labor Organization (ILO) Convention 107 "Concerning the Protection and Integration of Indigenous and Other Tribal and Semi-Tribal Populations in Independent Countries" (1957); in ILO Convention 169 " On Indigenous and Tribal Peoples in Independent Countries" (1989). However, their interpretations in these documents and in Russian science and practice differ somewhat. International documents are more focused on peoples who have lost their traditional places of residence or have problems in using them, as if incapable of self-organization in the form of national-territorial and other formations. We are talking rather about improving everyday life and living standards in the country as a whole.
In Russia, the equality of all peoples and the possibilities for their self-organization were secured from the very beginning, including through the use of forms of national-territorial autonomy, the creation of national districts, village councils, etc. Opportunities were constantly created for the use of language, the development of writing, etc., Together with As a result, the problems of organizing everyday life and the life of K. medical sciences gradually accumulated, especially in the regions of the North and North-East. Technological progress has influenced the use of some peoples traditional types fields, and the industrial development of oil and gas fields in its own way had an even more impact on them negative impact. Excellent definition
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Small peoples
Indigenous peoples of the North, Siberia and the Far East of the Russian Federation (hereinafter referred to as the indigenous peoples of the North) are peoples of less than 50 thousand people living in the northern regions of Russia, Siberia and the Russian Far East in the territories of the traditional settlement of their ancestors, preserving their traditional way of life , management and crafts and realizing themselves as independent ethnic communities.
general information
Indigenous peoples of the Far North, Siberia and the Far East - this is the official name; more briefly, they are usually called the peoples of the North. The birth of this group dates back to the very beginning of the formation of Soviet power, to the 1920s, when a special resolution “On Assistance to the Peoples of the Northern Outskirts” was adopted. At that time we managed to count about 50, if not more, various groups who lived in the Far North. They, as a rule, were engaged in reindeer herding, and their way of life was significantly different from what the first Soviet Bolsheviks saw for themselves.
As time passed, this category continued to remain as a special accounting category, gradually this list crystallized, more precise names of individual ethnic groups, and in the post-war period, at least since the 1960s, especially in the 1970s, this category came to include 26 nations. And when they talked about the peoples of the North, they meant 26 indigenous peoples of the North - they were called back in their time the small peoples of the North. These are different language groups, people speaking various languages, including those whose close relatives have still not been found. This is the language of the Kets, whose relations with other languages are quite complex, the language of the Nivkhs, and a number of other languages.
Despite the measures taken by the state (at that time it was called the Communist Party Soviet Union and the Soviet government), separate resolutions were adopted on the economic development of these peoples, on how to facilitate their economic existence - nevertheless, the situation remained quite difficult: alcoholism was spreading, there were a lot of social diseases. So gradually we lived until the end of the 1980s, when suddenly it turned out that 26 peoples did not fall asleep, did not forget their languages, did not lose their culture, and even if something happened, they want to restore it, reconstruct it, and so on, want to use it in their modern life.
At the very beginning of the 1990s, this list suddenly began to live a second life. Some peoples of Southern Siberia were included in it, and so there were not 26, but 30 nations. Then gradually, during the 1990s - early 2000s, this list expanded, expanded, and today there are about 40-45 ethnic groups, starting from the European part of Russia and ending with the Far East, a significant number of ethnic groups are included in this the so-called list of indigenous peoples of the north of Siberia and the Far East.
What does it take to be on this list?
First of all, you as a people are officially forbidden to be fruitful and multiply in the sense that, let it sound rude, you should not be more than 50,000 people. There is a limit on numbers. You must live in the territory of your ancestors, engage in traditional farming, preserve traditional culture and language. Everything is actually not so simple, it is not easy to have a special self-name, but you must consider yourself an independent people. Everything is very, very difficult, even with the same self-name.
Let's try to look at, say, the Altai people. Altaians themselves are not included in the list of indigenous peoples. And for a long time in Soviet ethnography, Soviet science, it was believed that this united people, formed, however, from different groups, but they formed into a single socialist nation. When the late 1980s and early 1990s arrived, it turned out that those who made up the Altaians still remember that they are not completely Altaians. This is how new ethnic groups appeared on the map of the Altai Republic and on the ethnographic map: Chelkans, Tubalars, Kumandins, Altaians themselves, Telengits. Some of them were included in the list of indigenous peoples of the North. Was very a difficult situation- the 2002 census, when the power structures of the Altai Republic were very afraid that due to the fact that a significant part of the former Altaians suddenly enrolled in the indigenous peoples, the population of the republic, that is, the titular people, would significantly decrease and then their portfolios would be taken away - it would not republics, and people will lose their jobs. Everything turned out well: in our country there is no such direct correlation between the titular ethnic group and the status of the entity in which it lives - it could be a republic, an autonomous district or something else.
But when it comes to ethnic identity, the situation is much more complicated. We said that several groups of these Altaians emerged. But if we take each of them, we will find that each of them consists of 5, 10, or maybe 20 divisions. They are called genus, or, in Altai, “syok” (‘bone’), some of them have very ancient origin. In the same 2002, the leaders of the clans - they are called zaisans - when they learned that the people’s answer would not affect the status of the republic in any way, they said: “Oh, how good. So, maybe now we’ll write ourselves down as Naimans, Kipchaks (by the name of the clan).” That is, it really turns out that a person is generally an Altai, but at the same time he can be a representative of some ethnic group within the Altaians. He may be a member of his own family. If you dig around, you can find even smaller ones.
Why should you be on this list?
Since there is a list, you can get into it, you can sign up for it. If you are not on this list, then you will not have any benefits. About benefits, as a rule, they say: “They signed up there because they want benefits.” Of course, there are some benefits if you know about them and can take advantage of them. Some people don't know that they exist. These are benefits for medical care, for receiving firewood (relevant in villages), it could be preferential admission for your children to university, there is another list of these benefits. But that's really not the most important thing. There is such a moment: you want to live on your own land, and you have no other land. If you are not included in this list of indigenous peoples of the North, then you will be treated like everyone else, although you are already a citizen of the Russian Federation. Then you will not have additional leverage in terms of protecting the territory on which you and your ancestors lived, hunted, fished, and practiced that traditional way of life, which is very important to you.
Why is it so important? Sometimes with laughter, sometimes without laughter they say: “Well, what can we take from him? Even if he is a “white collar” worker, the time comes for poutine or to collect cones in the taiga, he goes to the taiga to collect cones or to poutine, disappears into the sea and catches fish.” A man works in an office, but he cannot live without it. Here they tell it with laughter or even disdain. If we find ourselves, say, in the United States, then we will simply find that self-respecting companies will provide a person with vacation for this time, because they understand that he cannot live without it, and not because it is his whim, that he wants to go fishing, just like any of us might want to go somewhere on the weekend to relax. No, it’s something in the blood that drives a person from the office back to the taiga, to the lands of his ancestors.
If you do not have the opportunity to additionally protect this land, then various difficult things can happen. life situations. It is no secret that the territory inhabited by small indigenous peoples of the North is rich in mineral resources. It can be anything: gold, uranium, mercury, oil, gas, coal. And these people live on lands that seem very important from the point of view strategic development states.
7 smallest nations of Russia
Chulym people
Chulym Turks or Yus Kizhiler (“Chulym people”) live on the banks of the Chulym River in the Krasnoyarsk Territory and have their own language. In former times, they lived in uluses, where they built dugouts (odyg), half-dugouts (kyshtag), yurts and tents. They were engaged in fishing, hunting fur-bearing animals, extracting medicinal herbs, pine nuts, growing barley and millet, harvesting birch bark and bast, weaving ropes and nets, making boats, skis, and sledges. Later they began to grow rye, oats and wheat and live in huts. Both women and men wore trousers made from burbot skins and shirts trimmed with fur. Women braided many braids and wore coin pendants and jewelry. Dwellings are characterized by chuvals with open hearths, low clay stoves (kemega), bunks and chests. Some Chulymch residents converted to Orthodoxy, others remained shamanists. The people have preserved traditional folklore and crafts, but only 17% of 355 people speak their native language.
Oroks
Indigenous people of Sakhalin. They call themselves Uilta, which means “deer”. The Orok language has no written language and is spoken by almost half of the 295 remaining Oroks. The Japanese nicknamed the Orok people. The Uilta are engaged in hunting - sea and taiga, fishing (they catch pink salmon, chum salmon, coho salmon and salmon), reindeer husbandry and gathering. Nowadays, reindeer husbandry has fallen into decline, and hunting and fishing are under threat due to oil development and land problems. Scientists assess the prospects for the continued existence of the nation with great caution.
Enets
The Enets shamanists, also known as the Yenisei Samoyeds, call themselves Encho, Mogadi or Pebai. They live on Taimyr at the mouth of the Yenisei in the Krasnoyarsk Territory. The traditional dwelling is a conical tent. Of the 227 people, only a third speak their native language. The rest speak Russian or Nenets. The national clothing of the Enets is a parka, fur pants and stockings. Women have a swing parka, men have a one-piece parka. Traditional food is fresh or frozen meat, fresh fish, fish meal - porsa. From time immemorial, the Enets have been engaged in reindeer hunting, reindeer husbandry, and Arctic fox. Almost all modern Enets live in permanent settlements.
Basins
The Tazy (Tadzy, Datzy) are a small and fairly young people living on the Ussuri River in the Primorsky Territory. It was first mentioned in the 18th century. The Taz originated from the mixing of the Nanai and Udege with the Manchus and Chinese. The language is similar to the dialects of northern China, but very different. Now there are 274 Tazis in Russia, and almost none of them speak their native language. If in late XIX century, 1050 people knew it, but now it is owned by several elderly women in the village of Mikhailovka. The Taz live by hunting, fishing, gathering, farming and animal husbandry. Recently, they have been striving to revive the culture and customs of their ancestors.
Izhora
The Finno-Ugric people Izhora (Izhora) lived on the tributary of the Neva of the same name. The self-name of the people is Karyalaysht, which means “Karelians”. The language is close to Karelian. They profess Orthodoxy. During the Time of Troubles, the Izhorians fell under the rule of the Swedes, and fleeing the introduction of Lutheranism, they moved to Russian lands. The main occupation of the Izhors was fishing, namely the extraction of smelt and herring. The Izhors worked as carpenters, weaving and basket weaving. IN mid-19th century, 18,000 Izhoras lived in the St. Petersburg and Vyborg provinces. The events of World War II had a catastrophic impact on the population. Some of the villages burned down, the Izhorians were taken to Finland, and those who returned from there were transported to Siberia. Those who remained in place disappeared among the Russian population. Now there are only 266 Izhors left.
Vod
The self-name of this Orthodox Finno-Ugric vanishing people of Russia is Vodyalayn, Vaddyalaizyd. In the 2010 census, only 64 people classified themselves as Vod. The language of the nationality is close to the southeastern dialect of the Estonian language and to the Livonian language. From time immemorial, the Vods lived south of the Gulf of Finland, on the territory of the so-called Vodskaya Pyatina, which is mentioned in the chronicles. The nationality itself was formed in the 1st millennium AD. The basis of life was agriculture. They grew rye, oats, barley, raised livestock and poultry, and were engaged in fishing. They lived in barns, like Estonian ones, and from the 19th century - in huts. The girls wore a sundress made of white canvas and a short “ihad” jacket. Young people chose their own bride and groom. Married women had their hair cut short, while older women shaved their heads and wore a paykas headdress. Many pagan remnants have been preserved in the rituals of the people. Now Vodi culture is being studied, a museum has been created, and the language is being taught.
Kereki
Vanishing people. There are only four of them left throughout Russia. And in 2002 there were eight. The tragedy of this Paleo-Asian people was that from ancient times they lived on the border of Chukotka and Kamchatka and found themselves between two fires: the Chukchi fought with the Koryaks, and the Ankalgakku got the worst of it - that’s what the Kereks call themselves. Translated, this means “people living by the sea.” Enemies burned homes, women were taken into slavery, men were killed.
Many Kerek people died during the epidemics that swept the lands at the end of the 18th century. The Kereks themselves led a sedentary lifestyle, obtained food by fishing and hunting, and killed sea and fur-bearing animals. They were engaged in reindeer herding. The Kereks contributed to dog riding. Harnessing dogs in a train is their invention. The Chukchi harnessed dogs with a fan. The Kerek language belongs to the Chukchi-Kamchatka language. In 1991, there were only three people left in Chukotka who spoke it. To preserve it, a dictionary was recorded, which included about 5,000 words.
What to do with these people?
Everyone remembers well the movie “Avatar” and that nasty character who said that “they are sitting on my money.” Sometimes one gets the impression that those companies that are trying to somehow regulate relations with people living in those places where they can mine and sell something, treat them this way, that is, these are people who are simply getting in the way. The situation is quite complicated, because everywhere, in all cases, where something like this happens (this could be some sacred Lake Nouto, where the Khanty or Forest Nenets live, it could be Kuzbass with its coal deposits, it could be Sakhalin with its oil reserves), there is a certain clash of interests, more or less clearly expressed, between the indigenous peoples of the North, between the local population, in principle, everyone. Because what’s the difference between you, an aborigine, and a Russian old-timer, behaving exactly the same way, living on the same land, doing the same fishing, hunting, etc., and suffering in the same way from dirty water and others negative consequences mining or development of some minerals. The so-called stakeholders, in addition to Aboriginal people, include government agencies and the companies themselves who are trying to make some profit from this land.
If you are not on this list of indigenous peoples of the North, then it will be much more difficult for you to defend your land and your rights to the way of life that you want to lead. It is important to preserve your culture, because if you do not have the territory where you live compactly with your fellow tribesmen, then it will be very difficult to ensure that your children learn their native language and pass on some traditional values. This does not mean that the people will disappear, will disappear, but in the way you perceive the situation, there may be such an idea that if my language disappears, I will cease to be some kind of people. Of course you won't stop. Throughout Siberia great amount The peoples of the North have lost their languages, but this does not mean that they do not speak any language. In some places the Yakut language has become their native language, and almost everyone speaks Russian. Nevertheless, people maintain their ethnic identity, they want to develop further, and the list gives them this opportunity.
But there is one interesting twist here that no one has thought about yet. The fact is that it is increasingly heard among younger generation among the indigenous peoples of the North, which, strictly speaking, has lost its ethnic specificity (they all speak Russian, do not wear traditional clothes): “We are indigenous peoples, we are indigenous peoples.” A certain community appears, perhaps it is a class identity, as in tsarist Russia. And in this sense, it apparently makes sense for the state to take a closer look at the processes that are now taking place in the North, and perhaps, if we talk about assistance, it may not be for specific ethnic groups, but for that new class community called the indigenous peoples of the North .
Why are the northern peoples disappearing?
Small nations differ from large ones not only in numbers. It is more difficult for them to maintain their identity. A Chinese man can come to Helsinki, marry a Finnish woman, live there with her all his life, but he will remain Chinese until the end of his days, and will not become a Finn. Moreover, even in his children there will probably be a lot of Chinese, and this manifests itself not only in appearance, but much deeper - in the peculiarities of psychology, behavior, tastes (even just culinary ones). If one of the Sami people finds himself in a similar situation - they live on the Kola Peninsula, in Northern Norway and Northern Finland - then, despite the proximity to their native places, after some time they will essentially become a Finn.
This is what happens with the peoples of the North and Far East of Russia. They preserve their national identity while they live in villages and engage in traditional farming. If they leave their native places, break away from their own people, then they dissolve in another and become Russians, Yakuts, Buryats - depending on where they end up and how life turns out. Therefore, their numbers are almost not growing, although the birth rate is quite high. In order not to lose national identity, you need to live among your people, in their original habitat.
Of course, small nations have intelligentsia - teachers, artists, scientists, writers, doctors. They live in the district or regional center, but in order not to lose touch with their native people, they need to spend a lot of time in the villages.
To preserve small nations, it is necessary to maintain traditional economies. This is the main difficulty. Reindeer pastures are shrinking due to growing oil and gas production, seas and rivers are polluted, so fishing cannot develop. Demand for reindeer meat and furs is falling. The interests of the indigenous population and regional authorities, large companies, and simply local poachers come into conflict, and in such a conflict, power is not on the side of small nations.
At the end of the 20th century. the leadership of districts and republics (especially in Yakutia, Khanty-Mansiysk and Yamalo-Nenets districts) began to pay more attention to problems of conservation national culture. Festivals of cultures of small nations have become regular, at which storytellers perform, rituals are performed, and sports competitions are held.
All over the world, the well-being, standard of living, and preservation of the culture of small national minorities (Indians in the Americas, aborigines of Australia, Ainu of Japan, etc.) are included in business card country, serve as an indicator of its progressiveness. Therefore, the significance of the destinies of the small peoples of the North for Russia is disproportionately greater compared to their small numbers, amounting to only 0.1% of the country’s population.
State policy
It is customary for anthropologists to criticize government policy towards the small peoples of the North.
Policy towards the peoples of the North has changed over the years. Before the revolution, they were a special class - foreigners who had self-government within certain limits. After the 1920s The culture, economy and society of the northerners, like the rest of the country, have undergone major transformations. The idea of developing the peoples of the North and bringing them out of the state of “backwardness” was accepted. The economy of the North became subsidized.
In the late 1980s - early 1990s. ethnographers formulated a rationale for the direct interdependence of traditional cultural identity, traditional economy and traditional habitat. Economy and language were added to the romantic thesis of soil and blood. The paradoxical idea that the condition for conservation and development ethnic culture– language and customs – is the conduct of traditional farming in a traditional habitat. This virtually hermetic traditionalism concept became the ideology for the SIM movement. It was the logical rationale for the alliance between ethnic intellectuals and emerging businesses. In the 1990s. Romanticism received a financial base - first, grants from foreign charitable foundations, and then from mining companies. The industry of ethnological examination was enshrined in the same law.
Research by anthropologists today shows that economic activity can exist and develop without preserving language. At the same time, languages can also emerge from live family communication during housekeeping. For example, Udege, Sami, many dialects of Evenki and many other indigenous languages are no longer heard in the taiga and tundra. However, this does not prevent people from engaging in reindeer husbandry, hunting, and fishing.
In addition to cultural figures and businessmen, an independent layer of leaders and political activists has formed among the indigenous indigenous peoples,
There is a point of view among SIM activists that benefits should not be selective, but apply to all representatives of the SIM, no matter where they live or what they do. As arguments, for example, arguments are offered that in the body the need for fish in the diet is laid down at the genetic level. An option to solve this problem is to expand the areas of traditional residence and traditional farming throughout the entire region.
The countryside in the Far North is not an easy place to live. IN agriculture people of different ethnic backgrounds work there. They use the same technologies, overcome the same difficulties, face the same challenges. This activity should receive state support also regardless of ethnicity. The state guarantee of the protection of the rights of the peoples of Russia primarily guarantees the absence of any discrimination on ethnic and religious grounds.
As the analysis shows, the Law “On Guarantees of the Rights of Indigenous Minorities of the Russian Federation” stands out in its approach from the entire Russian legal system. This law considers peoples as subjects of law. The inability to lead provides the basis for the formation of an estate - a group of people endowed with rights due to their ethnic origin. Local executors of laws will long face attempts to legally close a fundamentally open social system.
The principal way out of this situation may be to overcome the romanticism of traditionalism and separate the policy of supporting economic activity and supporting ethnocultural activity. In the socio-economic part, it is necessary to extend benefits and subsidies to indigenous minorities to the entire rural population of the Far North.
In the ethnocultural part, the state can provide the following types of support:
- Scientific support, represented by research organizations and universities, in their development of programs and training of specialists.
- Legal support in the form of development and adoption of norms for the preservation and development of ethnocultural heritage.
- Organizational support in the form of development and implementation of ethnocultural programs of cultural institutions and educational institutions.
- Financial support for NGOs developing ethnocultural initiatives in the form of grant support for promising projects.
The Russian Federation includes a considerable number of the most various peoples- according to experts, about 780 groups. The so-called small peoples of Russia live in the northern territory, which runs along 30 regions of the country. If you add up their numbers, there are not so many of them: a little more than a quarter of a million. As of 2010, about 45 indigenous groups live in our state. This article will talk in detail about the peculiarities of residence, legal powers, problems and legal status of the small peoples of Russia.
What are Russian small peoples?
Experts call small ethnic communities that retain their traditions, customs and cultural characteristics of residence. The problem of the livelihoods of small nations is raised not only at the all-Russian, but also at the global level. Thus, in 1993, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution according to which small and indigenous communities should be given Special attention. Russia did not stand aside then: the 1993 Constitution proclaimed the principle of guaranteeing rights and freedoms both for ordinary citizens and for indigenous representatives of the country. At the constitutional level, the consolidation of the rights of indigenous people is an integral element in the system of protection and support of democratic state development.
Why has the problem of the existence of small-numbered peoples of Russia received special attention recently? The answer to this question lies in history. The fact is that at the beginning of the 20th century, some peoples of our state faced a number of problems: economic, demographic, social and, of course, cultural. This happened, as it is not difficult to guess, due to profound state changes: revolutions, repressions, civil and Great Patriotic War etc. At the beginning of the 90s, the issue of preserving the remaining indigenous and small peoples of Russia became acute.
It must be said that ethnic groups of a small type do not play last role in the cultural development of the country. Moreover, they are an integral part of the multinational people of Russia, acting as an independent factor thanks to which the revival of the once great Russian statehood. So what is the policy of the current authorities towards the small peoples of Russia? This will be discussed further below.
Legal basis for the existence of indigenous peoples in the Russian Federation
Legal recognition of the status of certain ethnic groups is far from a new phenomenon. Also in early XIX century in Russian Empire There was a special Charter on the life of foreigners, dating back to 1822. In this document, indigenous residents of certain territories of Russia the rights to self-government, land, cultural identity, etc. were guaranteed. In Soviet times, a similar policy continued, but the places of settlement of national minorities began to be ruthlessly divided. Relocation from place to place, as well as the principle of paternalism (the dictate of behavioral norms) played a cruel joke on small nations: centuries-old traditions and customs gradually began to disappear.
The problem was discovered in the 90s. In order to prevent further acceleration of the processes of removal of linguistic and cultural characteristics among the indigenous and small peoples of Russia, a number of legal norms were enshrined, proclaiming the principle of identity and preservation traditional culture among indigenous ethnic groups.
The first and most important source is, of course, the Russian Constitution. Here it is worth highlighting Article 72, which talks about the joint regulation of the rights and freedoms of national minorities by regions and the federation. Articles 20 and 28 provide for the possibility of indicating one's nationality. Many federal laws and other regulations enshrine the principle of equal rights for different ethnic groups. It is worth highlighting the Federal Law “On Fundamental Electoral Rights of Citizens”, the Federal Law “On Languages in the Russian Federation” and many other laws.
The Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation is the main government body in the country, whose responsibilities include the legal protection of small peoples. The same authority establishes special guarantees and rights for ethnic groups, which will be discussed below.
On benefits and guarantees for small peoples of Russia
What do Russian federal laws guarantee to ethnic minorities? If we are talking about political sphere, then it is worth highlighting here the separate legal prerequisites for the broad participation of indigenous peoples in the work of state bodies of the Russian Federation and local self-government authorities. How does it work? According to the Federal Law "On the Electoral Rights of Citizens", special quotas for representation in government bodies should be established. This should happen through the formation of electoral districts, which would include a smaller number of people than established by law. Electoral districts may concern individual national settlements, ethnic associations, tribes, etc.
The next area in which preferential rights for indigenous peoples of Russia are possible is the economy. Quality development methods should be applied in this area economic activity traditional type. Measures should be taken to create special areas in which it would be possible to use traditional methods of environmental management. Don't forget about budget allocations, aimed at supporting folk crafts. May be subject to privatization with strict regard to the interests of indigenous peoples manufacturing enterprises. At the same time, taxation of such enterprises will be carried out taking into account possible benefits and subsidies.
Finally, the preferential rights of the small peoples of Russia can also be exercised in the socio-cultural field. Here it is worth talking about the acceptance of conditions for preserving the spiritual and cultural foundations of a particular indigenous people. Ethnic means mass media, the corresponding language and literature must be supported in every possible way by the state authorities. It is necessary to periodically conduct scientific research cultural spheres small peoples.
International law on indigenous peoples
The national legal framework, which contains rules on the protection of the legal status of indigenous peoples of Russia, is based on the principles established by international law. In other words, Russian law should not contradict international legal norms. This rule is also enshrined in the Russian Constitution of 1993.
All international normative acts that address the problems of the world's small peoples can be divided into three main groups. The first group includes documents of an advisory nature. What does this mean? In short, the Declaration on Linguistic Minorities, Vienna (1989), Paris (1990), Geneva (1991) and many other declarative documents are aimed at stimulating favorable attitudes towards ethnic minorities.
The second group includes documentation, the purpose of which is to exert ideological and cultural influence on the legal system of a particular state. For example, Convention No. 169 talks about tribal peoples, the CIS Convention of 1994 on the implementation of high-quality protection of the rights of minorities, etc. A feature of the presented group is that Russia ignores the documentation contained in it. Does this constitute a group of problems of the indigenous peoples of Russia? Most likely no. After all, there is a third group, which includes documents legally binding for any state.
The latter consists of international documents designed to protect national minorities from various kinds of discriminatory and degrading aspects. Thus, there is a Pact on Political and civil rights 1965, the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Freedoms of 1950 and many other documents binding on the Russian state.
Rights and freedoms of Russian small peoples
Today, Federal Law No. 256-FZ “On Guarantees of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples of Russia” of 1999 is in force in Russia. Article 8 of the presented normative act talks about the rights of ethnic minorities. What exactly is worth highlighting here?
Small peoples, as well as their associations, must be supported in every possible way by the state authorities. This is necessary to protect their original habitat, traditional way of life, various types of crafts and management. That is why such peoples have the right to use minerals, soils, animals and plant organisms in their habitats.
It is provided, of course, free of charge. However, this is far from the only right of peoples of the type under consideration. It is also worth highlighting here:
- the right to participate in exercising control over the use of one’s own lands;
- the ability to carry out control and supervisory activities over the implementation federal laws and regulations of the Russian Federation;
- the right to construct and reconstruct economic, domestic and production facilities;
- the opportunity to receive from the Russian Federation in a timely manner cash or material allowance necessary for the cultural or socio-economic development of peoples;
- the right to participate in the exercise of state power or local government - directly or through authorized representatives;
- the opportunity to delegate their representatives to government authorities;
- the right to compensation for losses that were caused as a result of damage natural environment a habitat;
- the right to receive assistance from the state in the form of reforming a particular social sphere.
This, of course, is not all the possibilities that the law enshrines. It is also worth highlighting the replacement here military service alternative civil, the ability to create special self-government authorities, the right to exercise judicial protection, etc. It must be said that all the rights presented constitute the legal status of the small peoples of Russia.
Problems of small Russian peoples
Before we begin the story about the peculiarities of life of the most famous indigenous ethnic groups of our state, it is worth identifying the main problems that these ethnic groups often have to face.
The first and probably the most important problem is the identification of national minorities. The identification process can be group or individual. Difficulties arise in finding appropriate criteria and procedures. The second issue concerns minority rights. As is known, indigenous peoples require special rights. To do this, it is necessary to qualitatively determine the conditions under which the implementation of special rights would be possible. Difficulties may arise in ensuring that rights are targeted and correctly applied in private or public legal spheres.
The third problem of the indigenous peoples of the Russian North can be called the difficulty of self-determination of such ethnic groups. The fact is that in this area there are problems of the feasibility of forming territorial entities, granting rights or building guarantees of these rights. This raises another problem, closely related to the system of legal regulation and security. Here, the issues of the relationship between the principles of the regional and federal levels, the conclusion of agreements between ethnic groups, the application of customary law, etc. are extremely relevant. By the way, the problem of public administration for the affairs of small peoples of the Russian Federation is also quite acute. If we are talking about the levels of relevant government authorities, about the delegation of powers to local government authorities, then some difficulties of an organizational nature may arise here.
It is also worth highlighting the problem of status public organizations national minorities. The fact is that such organizations could be given quite large and voluminous rights relating to the electoral process, protection of interests, control over the implementation of powers, etc. Difficulties here may arise, again, when questioning the appropriateness of such actions.
Influence on the culture of small peoples
Various international treaties and national regulations establish rules that must never be violated. They also concern centuries-old cultural traditions of this or that people. Still, Soviet times did not in the best possible way affected individual small peoples. Thus, it is worth paying attention to the Izhorians, whose number decreased several times between 1930 and 1950. But this is just an isolated example. State paternalism chosen as a priority vector cultural development in Soviet times, had a very bad impact on almost all the original peoples of Russia. It must be said that a certain form of paternalism is still present today, despite everything established laws and rules. And this is another problem of the small peoples of Russia, which would be worth paying close attention to.
The whole point is that in many peoples of the North there is an irreconcilable struggle against shamanism. Moreover, it is shamanism that has the greatest influence on the traditions and culture of national minorities. All-Russian clericalization also contributes to the struggle to some extent. Thus, in the Republic of Sakha, the local Orthodox diocese set the task of completely eradicating paganism in the surrounding territories. Of course, one can refer to history, because a similar struggle was waged back in the days of Tsarist Russia. But is it really that good today? In the context of maintaining secularism and the priority of cultural customs, such actions of the church should be regarded as forceful pressure on the traditions of certain peoples.
List of small peoples of Russia
From the Kola Peninsula, located in the Murmansk region, up to Far Eastern regions there are many different national minorities. The list of small-numbered peoples of Russia, although established quite a long time ago, is, nevertheless, supplemented from time to time. It is worth mentioning the most famous national minorities in Russia:
- Republic of Karelia and Leningrad region: Vepsians, Izhorians, Vodians and Kumadinians;
- Kamchatka: Aleuts, Alutors, Itelmens, Kamchadals, Koryaks, Chukchi, Evenks, Evens and Eskimos;
- Krasnoyarsk region and Yakutia: Dolgans, Nganasans, Nenets, Selkups, Teleuts, Enets;
- Sakha and Magadan region: Yukagirs, Chuvans, Lamuts, Orochs, Koryaks.
Naturally, the list is not complete. It can be constantly supplemented, because some peoples are still being discovered, while others are completely “dying out.” A description of the small peoples of the Russian North will be presented below.
About the largest and smallest peoples of the North of Russia
The list of small peoples of the Russian Federation is constantly updated. This is due to the discovery of new, hitherto unknown settlements. For example, not so long ago a group of Vods, consisting of only 82 people, acquired the status of an ethnic minority. By the way, the Vod are the smallest people in Russia. This ethnic group lives in the Leningrad region, and therefore is part of the Finno-Ugric group. Vod representatives speak Estonian. Until now, the main occupation of this people is agriculture, handicrafts and forestry. On this moment Vod is engaged in supplying products to the capital of the Leningrad region. It must be said that the spread of Orthodoxy and multiple mixed marriages significantly influenced the national group in question. This was expressed in the almost complete loss of the national language and centuries-old culture.
It is worth telling in a little more detail about the other small peoples of the North of Russia. Thus, in contrast to the smallest people of a small type, there is also the largest. At the moment this is a group of Karelians. On the territory of the Vyborg and Leningrad regions there are about 92 thousand people. The Karelian ethnic group was formed by the beginning of the 13th century. It seems surprising that mass baptism on Novgorod territory had virtually no effect on the culture of the Karelians. In this group, few people understood the Russian language, and therefore the propaganda of Orthodoxy did not affect such a distinctive group and could not influence the traditions of this people. The main occupation of Karelians is fishing and reindeer herding. Today, the Karelian Republic has a well-developed wood processing industry type.
Peoples of Chukotka
Many people know that it is in the territory of the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug that the largest number of national minorities live. Chuvans, for example, number about one and a half thousand people. This is an Arctic race of the large Mongoloid group. Most Chuvans speak the Chukchi language with a small Russian dialect. Another such group is known to all Russians: the Chukchi. There are about 15 thousand people. The Chukchi live in Yakutia.
In total, about 90 thousand people live in Chukotka. Although 30 years ago this figure was much higher. What is the reason? Why has there been a noticeable decrease in the number of representatives of national minorities since the beginning of the 90s? Even the most prominent experts find it difficult to answer this question. After all, a similar situation is happening in Kamchatka, where from 472 thousand people as of 1991, only 200 thousand remain today. Perhaps it’s all about urbanization, although statistics do not give any high indicators in this area. In fairness, it should be noted that problems are solved through the implementation of a high-quality policy for the preservation of the small peoples of Russia.