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 Enumeration of the negative points and deficiencies of the law The negative points and deficiencies of the federal law on fellow countrymen can be traced back primarily to unresolved questions of sphere of authority and, paradoxically, the positive elements of the law. The reasons are: 1. the comprehensive definition of the subjects of the law; 2. the comprehensive nature of the fields to be assisted; 3. the lack of a central organ responsible for the implementation of the law and unresolved questions of sphere of authority. As additional deficiencies, one can consider the wording which, in certain cases, seems vague without reason and mentions possibilities instead of obligations. In my opinion, however, one of the most important negative points follows not from the text of the law but the economic situation of Russia, for the current financial situation of the country strongly questions the feasibility of the goals defined in the law. That is, just to mention a few examples, the financial burdens of the economic and social transformations Russia faces, the considerable dependence of the budget on the income deriving from oil export, and the paying off the foreign loans greatly hamper and/or limit the financial support of the often undoubtedly nice and just goals of the law. This is true even if the majority of fellow countrymen the law seeks to assist live in countries in which the life standard is far below that of Russia. The lack of executive decrees connected to the law may cause further difficulties during the implementation. The comprehensive definition of the subjects of the law Under the law, those persons belong in the group of fellow countrymen (fellow countrymen living abroad) (Article 1) who • live outside the borders of the federation but are citizens of the Russian Federation; • were citizens of the Soviet Union and live in the countries that once formed a part of the Soviet Union and have either received citizenship in these countries or become stateless (persons not possessing any citizenship); • emigrated from the (czarist) Russian state, the Russian Republic, the RSFSR, the USSR, or the RF as citizens of these countries and have acquired citizenship abroad or possess a residence permit or have become stateless (persons not possessing any citizenship); • the descendants of those belonging to the group above with the exception of those descendants who belong to the denominative (majority, state-forming) groups of the foreign country. 44 Külügyi Szemle
