FIIA JUNE 2021 WORKING PAPER 125 RUSSIA’S NATIONALITIES POLICY BEFORE AND AFTER THE 2020 CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS IS THE “ETHNIC TURN” CONTINUING? Veera Laine & Konstantin Zamyatin FINNISH ◄ INSTITUTE - OF INTERNATIONAL -II. AFFAIRS FIIA WORKING PAPER JUNE 2021 I 125 RUSSIA’S NATIONALITIES POLICY BEFORE AND AFTER THE 2020 CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS IS THE “ETHNIC TURN” CONTINUING? In January 2020, Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed a set of constitutional amendments, aiming to secure the continuity of his power in the years to come. At the same time, the amendments allowed ideological visions on national identity to be inscribed in the Constitution. Since summer 2020, the Constitution has enhanced the symbolic status of the Russian language, which is now not only the state language but also the language of those who speak it (i.e. of “ethnic” Russians or “Russian-speakers”), implicitly referred to as the state-founding people. Tese provisions, together with support for compatriots abroad, not only continue the turn observable since the 2010s in Russia’s nation- building from a civic vision towards an ethnic vision of nation, but also challenge the existing interpretations of state borders. Te provisions on safeguarding the “historical truth” and establishing a single framework for education hinder the republics from pursuing their identity policies. Tis Working Paper argues that the amendments both adjust the earlier changes and signal new ones in the ofcial discourse and nationalities policy. VEERA LAINE KONSTANTIN ZAMYATIN Research Fellow Researcher Te EU’S Eastern Neighbourhood and Russia University of Helsinki Finnish Institute of International Afairs ISBN 978-951-769-690-6 ISSN 2242-0444 Language editing: Lynn Nikkanen Arkadiankatu 23 b The Finnish Institute of International Affairs is an independent research institute that produces POB 425 / 00101 Helsinki high-level research to support political decision-making as well as scientific and public debate C Telephone +358 [0)9 432 7000 FINNISH both nationally and internationally. INSTITUTE Fax +358 10)9 432 7799 All manuscripts are reviewed by at least two other experts in the field to ensure the high - OF INTERNATIONAL quality of the publications. In addition, publications undergo professional language checking -II. AFFAIRS www.fiia.fi and editing. The responsibility for the views expressed ultimately rests with the authors. CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 4 RUSSIA’S NATIONALITIES POLICY AND THE “ETHNIC TURN” 4 CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT PROCESS OF 2020 AND NATIONALITIES POLICY 8 Enhancing the status of the Russian language and guaranteeing the maintenance of diversity 8 Discourses on nation 9 National identity, education, and memory politics 10 CONCLUSIONS AND DISCUSSION 12 BIBLIOGRAPHY 14 FIIA WORKING PAPER JUNE 2021 I 3 RUSSIA’S NATIONALITIES POLICY BEFORE AND AFTER THE 2020 CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS IS THE “ETHNIC TURN” CONTINUING? INTRODUCTION were being incorporated. Nevertheless, the boundaries of that “ethnic” Russian nation remain undefned in the The constitutional amendments in 2020 introduced a state discourse, and debated in academia. variety of shifts in Russia’s nationalities policy. From In the following sections, we ask whether the con- this perspective, the key novelties include enhancing stitutional amendments signal a structural or institu- the symbolic status of the Russian language; referring tional change in Russia’s strategy of diversity man- to (ethnic) Russians as the state-founding people while agement. Te relevance of the study is embedded in guaranteeing “the maintenance of ethno-cultural and the efect that the nationalities policy trends will have linguistic diversity”; providing support for “compatriots on the relations between the Kremlin and the Russian abroad”; “safeguarding the historical truth”; and aiming regions in the future. To this end, we analyze ofcial, to establish a single legal framework for the upbring- public and media discourses by studying the texts ing and education policy. Moreover, “the maintenance of proposals presented in the State Duma proceed- of civic peace and accord” (i.e. also of “inter-ethnic ings and those constitutional amendments that were accord”) has now been added to the presidential pow- eventually accepted, as well as shorthand reports of ers to be exercised with the assistance of the Security the State Duma and working group sessions on the Council.1 constitutional amendments. Tis Working Paper studies the recent trends and Te study focuses on the debate at the level of cen- future prospects of Russia’s nationalities policy by fo- tral government, even though, as we will discuss, one cusing on these shifts, duly contributing to the discus- cannot fully understand the policy shift without ac- sion on the subject. By analyzing these amendments counting for its efects at the level of regions. Howev- and the way they were discussed during the process, er, mapping the constitutional amendments from the we show that they connect to the broader trends of perspective of the central government’s nationalities Russia’s nationalities policy by consolidating the am- policy has not yet been conducted, and we see this as biguity in the state strategy, but also by continuing an groundwork for further studies in the feld. incremental policy change towards the assimilation of non-Russians. Currently, other legislative initiatives are being developed based on the amendments, with RUSSIA’S NATIONALITIES POLICY AND THE many new laws underway.2 “ETHNIC TURN” Te motivation for the study arises from the notion that the nationalities policy in Russia maintains several As the name suggests, a nationalities policy is a policy conficting discourses in identity politics. Te state lead- dealing with the question of nationalities.3 A state’s re- ership refers to Russian citizens as a historically multi- sponse to the diversity challenge can be both strategic national people, but also sustains civic nation-building and policy-level: a strategy aims at dealing with diversi- rhetoric; further, the principle of the equality of peoples ty in the long run through managing or eliminating dif- is maintained alongside the growing emphasis on the ferences between ethnic, linguistic, religious or cultur- primacy of ethnic Russianness. Many scholars have al groups, while a policy covers mid-term government noted that in the 2010s, an “ethnic turn” occurred in actions directed at harmonizing the relations between the official discourse of the nation, when along with groups. the political and civic unity, references to Russian eth- Russia’s response to diversity includes not only nicity, like those of the Russian language and culture, policy per se as a course of government actions, but also a strategic response shaped via political structures, 1 Te new text of the Constitution with amendments 2020: http://duma.gov.ru/ primarily ethnic federalism. Furthermore, along with news/48953/. 2 Noble & Petrov 2021; see also proposals made at the meeting of the Presidential Council for Internationality Relations on 30 March 2021: http://kremlin.ru/ 3 Te term “nationalities” allows policymakers to avoid the contrast between “ma- events/president/news/65252. jorities” and “minorities”, or “nations” and “ethnic groups”. FIIA WORK ING PAP ER JUNE 2021 I 4 its core task of managing nationalities afairs, the pro- At the beginning of the 2000s, the new state leader- fled government agency was tasked throughout the ship made centralization of power and political stabil- post-Soviet period with additional tasks in adjacent ity key priorities and introduced various institutional policy areas that ranged from managing federative re- changes to counter the risk of internal disintegration. lations, regional policy, and migration policy, to lan- Ethnic and religious parties were prohibited in 2001, guage policy and other areas.4 and direct gubernatorial elections were eliminated in Scholars have often depicted Russia’s nationalities December 2004. Te president justifed the move by policy as vague or even non-existent.5 Te reason for citing the threat of terrorism: according to Vladimir this is that Russia’s policy towards nationalities is fun- Putin, the recent tragedy in Beslan had proved that the damentally controversial, pursuing both the integra- country would need to be more unifed, and having the tionist goals of promoting civic identity and thus pur- president appoint regional leaders would be one way suing the strategy of minimizing diferences, as well as to guarantee cohesion.8 Tis step signifed the decline the accommodationist goal of maintaining ethno-cul- of federalism as a tool of diversity management. At the tural diversity, inter alia, through the recognition of end of the decade, the name of the ofce of regional the status of ethnic republics. Yet a policy can have leaders was changed from “presidents” to “heads of contradictory goals as a result of a political struggle, republic” because “there can only be one president in but also as a result of a compromise. Tus, ambiguity the country”. does not necessarily signify a shortcoming in policy- Te centralization of power as well as the portray- making capacity but may also be a deliberate choice.6 al of external threats to national unity have directed The main challenges of diversity in Russia have the nation-building policies of the country to this day. fuctuated in recent decades and have directed the pol- Since the early 2000s, the state authorities have com- icies accordingly. In the early 1990s, the