Külügyi Szemle - A Teleki László Intézet Külpolitikai Tanulmányok Központja folyóirata - 2003 (2. évfolyam)
2003 / 3. szám - EURÓPA - Sáfi Csaba: A Few Words on the Federal Law on State policy of the Russian Federation with regard to Fellow Countrymen Abroad
A Few Words on the Federal Law on State Policy of the Russian Federation national/ethnic or linguistic minority term, since in certain areas as, for example, the Crimean Peninsula or the northern parts of Kazakhstan, it is exactly the Russians to form the majority or populate the given region since more ancient times or to be considered a similarly indigenous population as the majority nations. Moreover, the diffusion of the Russian language points even beyond this. That is, those non-Russian persons who do not consider themselves Russians by nationality but regard Russian as their mother tongue, number several millions. Their number is considerable especially in Ukraine. According to certain estimates, Russian can still be regarded as the most widespread language in the country.2 In spite of the fact that in the first part of the 1990s many, including politicians and political scientists, considered this Russian and Russian-tongued population of several tens of millions of persons a potential source of conflict that, given their minority situation and often unregulated status, could explode at any time3 - which seemed a real possibility especially in the light of the bloody occurrences of the Southern Slav region but which, fortunately, did not come true with the exception of the happenings in the Transdnestr Region -, the official Russian (foreign) policy lingered to elaborate its platform with regard to the fellow countrymen. What is more, it is still in debt as far as the practical steps are concerned. From the point of view of the (foreign) policy with regard to Russians who ended up abroad, one could call the period prior to the adoption of the federal law on the state policy of the Russian Federation with regard to fellow countrymen abroad4 (hereinafter: federal law on fellow countrymen or the law) the period of confusion and the exploration of the possible solutions. The few documents on the assistance provided to fellow countrymen5 that had been adopted prior to the law, during the years 1991-1999, resulted to be useless since the efforts aiming at setting an effectively operating system for their implementation remained unsuccessful. Flowever, not only institutionalised state relations failed to develop with respect to the fellow countrymen in the "Near Abroad"6, but real co-operation with the Western diaspora, that is, with those who were living outside the borders of the former Soviet Union also remained unrealised. This happened in a situation when it was exactly the relations to be developed with the fellow countrymen living "Far Abroad"7 that could have started with a clean slate as a result of the social and economic changes that had taken place. For, in contrast to the controversial historic events that continue to weigh on the relations with the "Near Abroad", the change of the regime brought an end exactly to those reasons that had not only clouded but practically made impossible the development of relations with the "Far Abroad" diaspora during the Soviet era. By failing to seek relations in this direction, the Russian political elite relinquished a potential lobby and investor group which the country would have badly needed.8 The lack or unsatisfactory state of relations with regard to fellow countrymen living in the "Near Abroad" can be traced back to the following main reasons: 2003. ősz 31
