Gaps and Peculiarities of Russian Legislation in Reference to International Instruments on Indigenous Peoples’ Rights

This chapter deals with controversial Russian legislation on indigenous peoples’ rights and its practical application. First, the issue of defining indigenous peoples is discussed and the main criteria for distinguishing indigenous peoples are given. Second, indigenous peoples’ special rights under international law are presented. Third, the author describes indigenous peoples’ status and rights in the Russian Federation. Collective and individual recognition of indigenous peoples and their land rights are the main focus. Apart from the rights explicitly provided by existing legal acts, the crucial concept of free prior informed consent (FPIC) is explored. The issues under discussion mostly follow from the incoherence of Russian laws and their inconsistency with international specialized legal instruments. The author proposes ways to resolve some major problems that indigenous peoples in Russia face. For the most part the solutions focus on making changes in Russian laws on indigenous peoples’ issues.