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
Csaba Sáfi international waters. With this, it was underlined that the issue of Russian and Russian-speaking national communities has a significance that goes beyond the bilateral relations between Russia and the successor states. 2. As opposed to this, the representatives of the second school held the opinion that Russia would have to look after its fellow countrymen independent of international organisations. According to their platform, these people would have to receive particular attention because, on the one hand, they are exposed to covert (e.g. in Kazakhstan) or more or less overt (e.g. in the Baltic states) ethnic discrimination in several countries. On the other, part of the former republics are unstable economically and socially (e.g. Ukraine and Armenia), what is more, the situation is close to resembling civil war conditions in some (e.g. Georgia). To make matters worse, a part of the fellow countrymen is in a difficult situation economically, and also suffers the effects of negative discrimination and the almost civil war-like conditions (e.g. in certain areas of Central Asia). (The difficult economic situation can be interpreted, naturally, only relatively, that is, in comparison to Russia.) With the exception of the Baltic countries - where one encounters discrimination based on ethnicity mainly which will probably be resolved following the accession to the European Union (at least this is what the regular annual country reports of the EU Council infer) -, Russia seems a real earthly paradise as compared to most of the former republics. This means that one will have to take into consideration the massive migration of the fellow countrymen into Russia in the future as well. The greatest number of refugees arrive from the Central Asian successor states, from Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan primarily, but the number of immigrants - and/or those who plan to move - to Russia is considerable as well. At the same time, the large-scale immigration and emigration can put significant extra burden on the Russian economy and may cause further welfare and social tensions. Merely the fact that all these negative phenomena needed to be decreased or controlled and managed after having found the right channels from them, would have been a sufficient reason for the elaboration of a (foreign) policy concept with regard to fellow countrymen and a central state (foreign) policy based on it. According to the "paternalistic" approach, the most important task of a central state (foreign) policy with regard to fellow countrymen is not symptomatic treatment, that is, the treatment of problems caused by migration directed to Russia, but prevention, that is, help provided to fellow countrymen in order to promote their social and political integration in their homes, assist their intellectual and financial growth, and improve their relations with Russia. (The "paternalistic" approach has a long tradition in Russian political and civil thinking: for a considerable part of the society has always expected to be told from above what to do, what is right and what is wrong. That is, the state will think, decide, and act instead of them, and even look after them. The decision and acts 36 Külügyi Szemle
