Sevoyan, D.G. On the question about the primary activities of national cultural autonomies

Abstract: The article is devoted to the changes in the Federal law on “National and Cultural Autonomy”. Now this law sets new goals for the named association including social and cultural adaptation and integration of migrants. This brings the question about the role of national and cultural autonomies in the spheres of both language preservation in Russia and studies of Russian as an official language. The author of the article examines linguistic rights of national and cultural autonomies, discovers the existing problems and describes other forms of enforcement of the constitutional right of nations living in Russia to preserve their native languages. Both general and private research methods including the methods of analysis, analogy as well as legalistic, functional and comparative law methods have been used in the research. The legalistic method was used to clarify the meanings of laws regulating activity of national and cultural autonomies. The functional method was used to examine the main forms of enforcement of the constitutional right to native language preservation. Sevoyan demonstrates the need for giving additional preferences to national and cultural autonomies so that they can perform the new functions. Based on the results of the analysis of federal and regional legislations, the author concludes that activity of national and cultural autonomies have positive experience in harmonization of inter-ethnic relations by means of supporting cultural identities of nations living in Russia and adaptation and integration of migrants.

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