10:00 22.07.2026
Russia’s small indigenous peoples: Preservation of cultural diversity
© RIA Novosti / Ilya Timin
The protection of the rights of indigenous people has been a major issue in international law for years. Debates are ongoing on which people can be regarded as indigenous, and which common criteria can be used to determine this status.
The Russian model of regulating this issue has certain specific elements. Unlike many international documents, which try to avoid clear-cut definitions, the Russian legislation enshrines the category of indigenous peoples, and stipulates a system of legal guarantees for them.
Article by Dmitry Ryakhovsky, Senior Adviser of the Department for Multilateral Human Rights Cooperation of the Russian Foreign Ministry, about the development of the Russian model of supporting indigenous peoples and its main differences from of the approaches used by other countries.
Russian model of supporting indigenous peoples: History
The Russian model of supporting indigenous peoples developed differently from its foreign analogues and is largely connected with the history of our country.
It began during the centuries-long settlement of Siberia, the Arctic and the Far East, when the state gradually developed relations with the peoples that lived there.
According to the Foreign Ministry’s report titled Indigenous Peoples Rights Situation in Certain Countries, many Arctic countries’ policy towards indigenous peoples was based on a degree of assimilation and discrimination, which created many socioeconomic and cultural problems.
Russia’s more peaceful policy of rapprochement with indigenous peoples helped create governance mechanisms which took into account specific lifestyle and economic activities of indigenous peoples.
The Kharampur ethnic village populated by the Nenets, a local indigenous people
© RIA Novosti / Vladimir Vyatkin
A major stage in the development of that mechanism was the adoption of the 1822 Statute Concerning the Administration of Alien Peoples (Charter on the Administration of Non-Russians), which was prepared by Mikhail Speransky. It was one of the first attempts to provide a comprehensive legal basis of the status of indigenous peoples in Russia.
The document enshrined a special procedure for managing the life of various groups of population. For example, indigenous peoples had the same rights and obligations as the other people of the Russian Empire:
The document enshrined a special procedure for managing the life of various groups of population. For example, indigenous peoples had the same rights and obligations as the other people of the Russian Empire:
“All settled indigenous peoples have the same rights and obligations as other Russian citizens depending on the social estates which they enter.”
In addition, the statute stipulated benefits for indigenous peoples, such as exemption from military service and certain taxes, freedom of religion, as well as the right to create local self-governments in areas densely inhabited by them.
It was a unique document for that period. No other country had a similar legislation that clearly set out the rights of indigenous peoples at the beginning of the 19th century.
Support mechanisms for indigenous peoples in modern Russia
A new stage in the system of regulating the rights of indigenous peoples in Russia began after the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the development of a modern Russian legal system.
The term “indigenous peoples” is codified in the Russian legislation. It also says that indigenous peoples are defined as ethnic groups with a population of under 50,000 who maintain a traditional lifestyle, economic activities and culture of their ancestors. There are 47 such ethnic groups holding the status of indigenous peoples in Russia. The use of the quantitative criterion allows providing support to the most vulnerable communities.
Under Article 69 of the Russian Constitution, the state undertakes to “guarantee the rights of the indigenous small-numbered peoples in accordance with the generally-recognized principles and norms of international law and the international treaties of the Russian Federation.”
Members of the youth ethnic group Koritev dancing during the Itelmen holiday Alkhalalalay
© RIA Novosti / Alexandr Piragis
In addition, the contemporary Russian system of protecting indigenous peoples includes not only constitutional norms but also special federal laws and regional support measures.
All of them are aimed at preserving the traditional lifestyle, cultural identity, language, and traditional economic activities of indigenous peoples in Russia.
Thanks to government support, indigenous peoples can maintain their traditional lifestyle and pass down their culture and traditional economic activities to future generations.
Distinguishing features of the Russian model
Neither the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, nor ILO Convention 169 (officially the Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, 1989) provide a standard definition of “indigenous peoples.” Instead, they use a set of characteristics, such as historical connection to territory, cultural identity, historical continuity, and self-identification.
Participants in the Vepsian Harmony festival dedicated to the culture of the Vepsians, the indigenous people of Karelia
© RIA Novosti / Ilya Timin
Unlike other countries, Russia has clearly formulated the term “indigenous peoples” and a set of criteria for identifying ethnic groups for which special support measures are developed.
It can therefore be said that the contemporary Russian model of regulating the rights of indigenous peoples combines the historical principles of ethnic integration with modern standards of the legal protection of indigenous cultures. This model has proved quite effective for the preservation of Russia’s cultural diversity.
