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 themselves. (It is enough to recall the fight for power among the leaders of the Russian political elite in the Crimea in the mid-1990s.14) The elaboration of an unified policy with regard to fellow countrymen was an unsettled question not only in the eyes of practical politics but also for theoreticians who could not establish a common denominator concerning these issues15. Three schools were opposing each other. According to the first, the exaggerated politicising of the issue had to be put aside during the elaboration of the policy with regard to fellow countrymen living in the "Near Abroad". According to the second, Russia had to continue to pursue a paternalistic policy toward fellow countrymen. According to the third view, which can much rather be regarded as a practical course realised as a peculiar mixture of the first two opinions, the issue concerning fellow countrymen was clearly a question of supremacy. 1. According to the first group of opinions - which could be termed as idealistic -, merely the fact of the existence of the fellow countrymen grants a political function to them and makes them immediately an organic part of the international system and relations. In the opinion of this attitude, primarily not Russia but instead the country in which the fellow countrymen live and of which they are citizens will make use of the political potential of the fellow countrymen - which exists regardless of the fact whether or not the Russian Federation can conceive all of the opportunities inherent in it - and, what is more, not necessarily always in the interest of Russia. That is, should the Russian political elite continue to deal with the problems of the fellow countrymen on the level of rhetoric only, then even the scenario is possible according to which the fellow countrymen and their organisations, who feel themselves abandoned, will seek a certain "compromise" with the political elite of the country in which they live. As a result of this, a social integration of the ethnic Russians might start that will be less related to Russia and will represent the interests of the RF decreasingly. This kind of integration might be characteristic especially of the European territories, among them primarily of the Baltic states and perhaps Ukraine. Naturally, this is not a short-term process. In the Central Asian areas, the feeling of abandonment might further increase transmigration to Russia, which has already grown to huge dimensions. This, however, could even be useful for Russia considering its current negative demographic trend. On the other hand, it is also true that for long Russia has not taken steps to protect the interests of the Russian and Russian-speaking population in the "Near Abroad" for reasons rooted in internal affairs, primarily for fear of the separatism of its own national communities. On this ground, many believed that the problem could be best solved and/or managed within the framework of the protection and safeguarding of universal human rights. At the same time, the undoubted international character of the problem was emphasised through driving the issue of the fellow countrymen to 2003. ősz 35
