Legislative Ideas of the Russian Parliament on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples of the North in the Period from 1990s till 2024: Barriers and Priorities

The article describes the key legislative initiatives on the rights of indigenous small-numbered peoples of Russia introduced in the period from the 1990s to 2024. The adoption of the new democratic Constitution of Russia in 1993 instigated the development of indigenous people’s rights and their guarantees introduced by the Article 69 aimed to protect indigenous peoples’ ethnocultural identity. At the same time, basic federal laws in the field of indigenous communities’ self-government and traditional environmental management appeared only in the early 2000s. However, a broad public and parliamentary discussion took place continuously, which characterizes Russia as one of the most advanced jurisdictions in the world in the field of guarantees of the indigenous communities’ rights. This study provides an overview of 37 bills on the rights of the indigenous population of Russia.