Abstract: The subject of this article is examination of the question of the enforcement of people’s right to self-determination through holding a referendum. From the perspective of realization of self-determination as a collective right, the referendum suits the most, as each member of the public can be heard and their combined pinion received. Within the framework of the research, the author analyzed the well-known referendums within national and international practice regarding the realization of right to self-determination, which resulted in the emergence of new sovereign states. A conclusion is made that a referendum has to match a set of criteria in order for it to be recognized by the international community as legitimate. The possibility of holding a referendum must be enshrined in national law, or obtained based on arrangement with the central state. In separate cases, referendum can be held at the initiative or under control of the international organization. The author believes that the realization of people’s right to self-determination through referendum is one of the most efficient means, as it allows obtaining the direct response of the people.

Abstract: The article is devoted to analysing the form of exercising the national right to self-determination within the Russian Federation. The author bases his article on the analysis of existing classifications of rights to self-determination and federal and regional laws and offers his own classification of rights to self-determination. In particular, he describes three basic forms of exercising the right to self-determination: creation of a federative constituent with a dominant ethnic group, creation of natioinal territorial and administrative divisions, and creation of national cultural autonomic units (non-commercial organisations) by ethnic groups that live in Russia. In order to carry out an in-depth analysis of execution of the right to self-determination, the author analyzes constitutions  of the republics that constitute the Russian Federation, as well as charters of national districts. The results of the analysis demonstrate such problems as irregularities of execution of the right to self-determination. At the international level self-determination is viewed as the right granted to all nations disregarding their status. However, in Russia national rights to self-determination vary a lot. Some ethnic groups have the right to execute their cultural and political rights to self-determination within the territory of a particular constituent of the Russian Federation while others have the right to preserve their culture and national identity only within independently established non-comnmercial organisations. At the end of the article the author makes a conclusion that there is a need to reform the national right to self-determination.