According to the constitution of the Russian Federation, the Russian language is. On the right of republics within the Russian Federation to establish their own state languages

Official language RF – Russian. The Russian Federation is a multinational state, therefore the Constitution of the Russian Federation enshrines the right of the peoples of Russia on their territory to use and study in educational institutions, in addition to Russian, the national language, draw up documents, in addition to Russian, and in the language of the corresponding people of Russia.

This right is enshrined in the Law of the Russian Federation of October 25, 1991 No. 1807-I “On the languages of the peoples of the Russian Federation.” The legal status of the state language in Russia, the scope of its use, protection and support are established by Federal Law No. 53-FZ of June 1, 2005 “On the State Language of the Russian Federation”, but the adoption of this Law did not sufficiently alleviate the gaps in the constitutional legislation of Russia.

Republics within the Russian Federation can establish their own state languages in order to preserve their historical traditions. The Russian Federation protects the right of the peoples of the Russian Federation to use and preserve their languages, therefore the following are unacceptable in the Russian Federation:

propaganda of hostility and disdain for any language;
creating obstacles, restrictions and privileges in the use of languages;
other violations of the legislation of the Russian Federation concerning the languages of the peoples of Russia.

The Russian Federation has a number of principles for preserving the languages of the peoples of Russia:

the languages of the peoples of the Russian Federation are the national heritage of the Russian Federation;
the languages of the peoples of the Russian Federation are under state protection;
The state throughout the Russian Federation promotes the development of national languages, bilingualism and multilingualism.

The main constitutional principle of preserving the languages of the peoples of Russia is their equality, i.e. all peoples of the Russian Federation have the right to equally ensure the preservation and use of their native language. This principle ensures equal rights of all peoples and their individual representatives to preserve and comprehensive development native language, freedom of choice and use of the language of communication. Right to Retain national language and its comprehensive development, freedom of choice and use of the language of communication belongs to all peoples of the Russian Federation, regardless of number, and their individual representatives, regardless of origin, social and property status, race and nationality, gender, education, attitude to religion, place of residence. Subjects of the Russian Federation have the right to adopt laws and other regulatory legal acts to protect the rights of citizens to freely choose the language of communication, education, training and creativity.

Guarantees for the protection of the languages of the peoples of the Russian Federation:

1. The languages of the peoples of the Russian Federation enjoy state protection, that is, the legislative, executive and judicial authorities of the Russian Federation are called upon to guarantee and ensure the social, economic and legal protection of all languages of the peoples of the Russian Federation.

2. Social protection languages is ensured by the implementation of a scientifically based language policy aimed at the preservation, development and study of all languages of the peoples of the Russian Federation throughout Russia.

3. Economic protection of languages includes targeted budgetary and other financial support for state and scientific programs for the preservation and development of the languages of the peoples of the Russian Federation, as well as the implementation of preferential tax policies for these purposes.

4. Legal protection of languages is ensuring the responsibility of legal and individuals for violation of the legislation of the Russian Federation on the languages of the peoples of Russia.

The Russian Federation guarantees citizens of the Russian Federation, regardless of knowledge of the national language, the implementation of basic political, economic, social and cultural rights, i.e., restrictions cannot be established on the territory of individual subjects depending on knowledge or ignorance of the language, and violation of the linguistic rights of peoples and individuals entails liability in accordance with the law.

Constitution of the Russian Federation, Article 68

Article 68
The state language of the Russian Federation throughout its territory is Russian.
Republics have the right to establish their own official languages. In government bodies, local government bodies, and government institutions of the republics, they are used along with the state language of the Russian Federation.
The Russian Federation guarantees all its peoples the right to preserve their native language and create conditions for its study and development.

Comm. Pigolkin A.S.

The languages of the peoples of the Russian Federation are our national heritage. They are a historical and cultural heritage and are protected by the state. October 25, 1991 The RSFSR Law on the languages of the peoples of the RSFSR was adopted, in accordance with which Russian state is obliged to take care of the languages of all peoples of Russia - large and small, to create conditions for their preservation and equal, unique development. The main provisions of this law formed the basis of Article 68 of the Constitution. The law determined, in particular, the fundamentals of the legal status of the languages of the peoples living in Russia, guarantees of their protection, regulated the use of languages in different areas government activities(publication of laws and other legal acts, elections, justice, etc.), in training and education, in toponymy, relations of the Russian Federation with foreign countries.
The Russian language is recognized in accordance with the state language throughout the Russian Federation. What is meant by the state language? Usually it is the native language of the majority or a significant part of the population of the state and therefore the most commonly used in it. This is the language (or languages) in which government authorities communicate with the population. Laws and other legal acts are published on it, official documents, minutes and transcripts of meetings, office work is carried out in government agencies and official correspondence. This is the language of official signs and announcements, seals and stamps, marking of domestic goods, road signs and names of streets and squares. This is the main language of education and training in schools and other educational institutions. The state language is mainly used on television and radio, in the publication of newspapers and magazines. State power guarantees care for its full development and ensures its active use in the political, cultural and scientific spheres.
Russian is the native language of the majority of the population of the Russian Federation - the Russian people. The Russian language is known and actively used by the vast majority of Russian citizens, regardless of their nationality. This effective remedy consolidation of society, strengthening its unity. It is important to emphasize the constitutional provision that Russian is the state language throughout the Russian Federation, i.e. both in those areas where the predominantly Russian population lives, and where the bulk of the inhabitants are representatives of other nationalities, compactly living small nations.
At the same time, it is important that the proclamation of the Russian language as the state language in no way contradicts the democratic principle of equality of all languages of the peoples of Russia, does not infringe on the linguistic rights of peoples and individual citizens, and does not impede the development of bilingualism and multilingualism in the subjects of the Federation. Article 26 of the Constitution clearly states that everyone has the right to use their native language, to freely choose the language of communication, education, training and creativity.
Russian language is the main medium interethnic communication peoples of Russia in accordance with established historical and cultural traditions. In any multinational state, no people can be in spiritual isolation. The language of interethnic communication is an effective tool for consolidating society, solving common political and economic problems, and introducing peoples to the achievements of world and domestic science, technology and culture. The bilingualism and multilingualism that has become established in our country was not imposed “from above.” This is an objective need for the common existence of the peoples of a federal state. The Russian language has historically become a means of interethnic communication, due to its actual recognition as such by all the numerous peoples of our vast state.
In accordance with the republics within the Russian Federation, they independently establish their state languages. To regulate these issues centrally means to intrude and interfere in their internal national affairs.
The proclamation of national languages as state languages in the republics is proceeding very intensively. The languages of the peoples who gave their name to the republic were basically proclaimed as state languages. However, the process of adopting laws on languages in the republics has not yet been completed and a list of all state languages of the republics cannot yet be given.
In a number of republics, several languages have been declared as state languages. Thus, in the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic, in addition to Russian, the official languages are Kabardian and Balkar, and in the Republic of Mari El - Mari meadow and Mari mountain languages. In those republics where laws on languages have been adopted, along with the national language, Russian is also defined as the state language - in Buryatia, Khakassia, Sakha (Yakutia), etc. It is hardly legal to use only your national language in the official activities of the republics. After all, the republics have a large Russian-speaking population. In addition, the state-legal activities of the republics presuppose their relations with the central bodies of the Federation and its other subjects.
The republican laws on languages, as well as the federal law, provide for the provision that giving the status of state languages to certain languages should not infringe on the rights of other nations and nationalities living on the territory of the republic to use their languages.
In some republics, the status of local official languages is established. Thus, the Law of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) on languages stipulates that the Evenki, Even, Yukaghir, and Chukchi languages in areas where the respective nationalities are densely populated are recognized as local official languages and are used on an equal basis with the state languages.
The Russian state recognizes the equal rights of all languages to their preservation and development and guarantees to each of them state support and protection regardless of its status and the size of the population speaking it. These provisions are recorded, in particular, in the Law “On the Languages of the Peoples of the RSFSR” (Articles 2-4) and in the relevant republican laws. For example, the Law on the Languages of the Peoples of the Republic of Khakassia states in Article 3: “The state recognizes the equal rights of all languages of the peoples of the Republic of Khakassia to their preservation and development. All languages of the peoples of the Republic of Khakassia enjoy state support.”
The current legislation of the Russian Federation provides for the right of Russian citizens to receive basic general education in the native language (See Part 2 of Article 6 of the Law of the Russian Federation “On Education”), law ethnic groups create national clubs, studios and art groups, organize libraries, clubs and studios for the study of the national language (See Article 21 of the Fundamentals of the Legislation of the Russian Federation on Culture).
Federal legislative, executive and judicial authorities guarantee and ensure social, economic and legal protection of all languages of the Russian Federation. Targeted budgetary and other financial support for state and scientific programs for the preservation and development of languages is established, and preferential tax policies are implemented for these purposes.
In accordance with the Constitution, serious attention should be paid to ensuring the free development of languages in areas densely populated by national minorities. Here, along with the Russian language and the state languages of the republics, the language of the population of a given area can be used in official spheres of communication. Thus, Article 4 of the Law on the Languages of the Peoples of the Republic of Khakassia determines that the Republic creates conditions for the preservation and development of languages small peoples that do not have their own national-state and national-territorial entities.
The Declaration on State Sovereignty of the RSFSR and the Declaration on the Languages of the Peoples of Russia proclaimed the principles of ensuring that representatives of nations and nationalities living outside their national-state formations or who do not have them on the territory of Russia, their legitimate ethnic and cultural rights, special care and attention of the state to languages small peoples. If measures are not taken to preserve such languages, they may soon disappear without a trace.
The Russian Federation provides moral, material and organizational support to compatriots living outside of Russia. So, May 15, 1992 An Agreement was concluded on cooperation in the field of education of the CIS member states, which provides for assistance in meeting the educational needs of the population belonging to national minorities and distinctive ethnic groups, including in their native language, providing mutual assistance in the provision and development of original textbooks and other educational materials. methodological literature, in the preparation and retraining of teaching staff for national minorities and ethnic groups (see also

Throughout the Russian Federation, the official language is Russian. This norm of the Constitution (Part 1 of Article 68) is very important in a state in which people of more than 100 nationalities live. And this is not an artificial imposition, since 85% of the population are Russians and the vast majority are people of other nationalities. 74% of Chechens, 80% of Ingush, 79% of Karachais, 69% of Mari consider (according to the 1989 census) Russian as their native language.

Recognition of the Russian language as a state language means that it is studied in educational institutions, official documents are published in it, and work is carried out in legislative and executive bodies of state power and courts. At the same time, the Law on the Languages of the Peoples of the RSFSR of October 25, 1991 (as amended on July 24, 1998) provides that citizens who do not speak Russian can use their native language in government bodies, organizations and institutions, and in certain cases (for example, in court), they are provided with appropriate translation.

The establishment of Russian as the state language does not exclude the right of certain subjects of the Federation to establish their own state languages. This right is granted (Part 2 of Article 68 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation) to the republics. In government bodies, local government bodies, and government institutions of the republics, these languages are used along with the state language of the Russian Federation 6.

However, there are only twenty-one republics that make up the Russian Federation, and there are many more peoples inhabiting the country. Their languages are recognized in Russia as the national heritage of the state, and the Constitution of the Russian Federation has secured for all peoples the right to preserve their native language and create conditions for its study and development. Citizens of Russia have the right to receive basic general education in their native language, they have the right to create national clubs, studios and art groups, organize libraries, clubs and studios for studying the national language, all-Russian, republican and other associations. In places where national groups live densely, their language may be used in local official business. State programs provide for financial and other measures aimed at preserving and developing the languages of the peoples of Russia.

1.4. Customs, monetary and tax systems

From an economic point of view, the Russian Federation is a single market. The establishment of customs borders, duties, fees and any other obstacles to the free movement of goods, services and financial resources is not allowed on its territory. Regulation of relations related to customs common to the Russian Federation is carried out by the Customs Code of the Russian Federation, the Law on Customs Tariffs, a number of decrees of the President and decrees of the Government of Russia. Consequently, the creation of customs borders between different subjects of the Federation is unacceptable in the Russian Federation.

But certain circumstances may necessitate restricting the movement of goods and services. The Constitution of Russia provides for such circumstances, but establishes the possibility of restrictions only through the adoption of a federal law and only for certain purposes: ensuring security, protecting the life and health of people, protecting nature and cultural values. This puts a barrier to all kinds of local and bureaucratic “creativity” that can arbitrarily interfere with the “unity of the economic space” and the “free movement of goods, services and financial resources,” which constitute one of the foundations of the constitutional system (Article 8 of the Constitution). Some of the grounds for restricting the freedom of movement of goods and services are provided for in federal laws about the state of emergency, about weapons, about the sanitary and epidemiological well-being of the population.

In the Russian Federation there is a unified monetary system, and monetary unit the ruble is recognized. Consequently, the subjects of the Federation do not have the right to introduce and issue their own money. Money issuance is carried out exclusively by the Central Bank of Russia, which protects and backs the ruble. The Central Bank operates independently of other government bodies 7 .

In the Russian Federation, both the Federation itself and its constituent entities have the right to impose taxes. On federal level Only the law can establish the system of taxes levied on the federal budget. Federal law should also determine the general principles of taxation and fees. Consequently, the subjects of the Federation, having the right to impose taxes, are obliged to do so in accordance with general principles established for the entire country.

The Federation has the right to issue government loans, but only in the manner determined by federal law. This limits the ability of the executive branch to issue loans at its own discretion, which could create a serious threat to the country's financial system. Loans must be placed on a voluntary basis, i.e., not have a compulsory nature for citizens and organizations.

On the right of republics within the Russian Federation to establish their own state languages

The importance of language in the life of society is very great. Without exaggeration, it can be stated that language stands next to such components of the life of society as economics, politics, and law. The importance of language lies not only in the fact that it acts as a means of human communication, inextricably linked with thinking, social means storage and transmission of information, management of human behavior, as a criterion for a person’s ethnic self-identification, but also in the fact that very often it goes beyond the boundaries of one state and becomes a means of interstate, interethnic communication, acquiring foreign policy overtones. Along with political, economic, social and cultural conditions linguistic factors can cause interethnic and international disputes and conflicts.

The problem of language becomes particularly acute in federal states. Wherein we're talking about not only about those federations whose subjects are national-state and national-territorial entities, but also about those that are formed from political-territorial units. Often this problem also arises in so-called semi-federal and unitary states.

During the “parade of sovereignties” claims to Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on language issues were presented not only by the union and autonomous republics, but also by autonomous regions and districts. These claims concerned not only the receipt of education in the language of the titular nations of the union republics and autonomous entities, but also the establishment of them as state languages along with the general federal state language - Russian. It was the problem of establishing state languages that, along with other economic and political reasons, became the reason for armed conflicts.

It should be noted that in some autonomous formations within the union republics, Russian was offered as the state language, along with the language of the titular nation of the union republic, and not the language of the people of the autonomy. Such demands were made, for example, by South Ossetia and Abkhazia towards Georgia. At the same time, the political and economic elite of these autonomous formations demanded that this be recorded in the Constitution of Georgia. This demand was not satisfied, which marked the beginning of a confrontation between Georgia, on the one hand, and South Ossetia and Abkhazia, on the other.

What is the concept of “state language”? IN scientific literature The state language is defined as the “native” language of the majority or a significant part of the population of the state and therefore intended to be the most commonly used in it. This is the language in which government authorities communicate with the population, “talk to citizens.”

The state language is also the language used in relations between states, as well as between states and international organizations and other subjects of international law.

In the legal literature, along with the concept of “state language”, other terms are used: “official language”, “working language”, “language of interethnic communication”. However, there are no generally accepted definitions of these concepts either.

Practice shows that the term “state language” is used, as a rule, in intrastate relations. The concept of “official language” is used mainly in international relations, in particular, in the activities international organizations and bodies (conferences). For example, the UN Charter proclaims English, French, Russian, Chinese, and Spanish as official languages. Within the meaning of the UN Charter, this means that the texts of the Charter in the specified languages are equally authentic (Article III of the Charter). At the same time, the working languages of the UN are English and French, that is, the work of the UN is conducted in these two languages. The term “official language” is sometimes also used in intrastate relations along with the state language. For example, Art. 8 of the Irish Constitution defines the national and first official language as the Irish language, and English language recognized as the second official language. This article, as can be seen, makes a distinction between the state and official languages. The Irish language is both the state and official language, and English is only the official (second) language.

As for the term “working language,” it is, as a rule, not used in domestic legislative acts.

In unitary states, even if some parts of them enjoy broad autonomy, as a rule, the state language is recognized as the language of the titular nation, with whose name the name of the given state is associated (Italy, Spain, etc.). However, as practice shows, autonomous formations in such states often demand that they be given the right to establish their own state languages. But in practice there has never been a case where two or more languages were recognized as the state language in a unitary state.

One state language is established as the state language in many federal states (Germany, Austria, Mexico, Brazil, etc.). At the same time, in those federal states whose subjects are national-state entities, the problem of multilingualism, as a rule, arises. Moreover, history knows of cases when in some federations, in particular in the USSR, the subjects of the federation established the language of the titular nation as the only state language. As for the Russian language, it qualified as a language of interethnic communication. Thus, in the latest constitution of Georgia Soviet period Georgian was recognized as the only official language. "In the Georgian SSR, free use is ensured in these bodies (meaning state and public bodies, institutions of culture, education, etc.) and institutions of Russian and other languages used by the population." This suggests that the Russian language in Georgia was not recognized as the state language. Similar provisions were contained in the constitutions of Armenia, Azerbaijan and other republics.

In some federal states, two or more languages are proclaimed as state languages. Other options are also possible. For example, the Belgian Constitution proclaims the freedom to use the languages accepted in Belgium, without recognizing any of them as state languages. Regulation of this issue is allowed only in the sphere government controlled and the administration of justice and only on the basis of the law: the use of laws adopted in Belgium is optional.

A special procedure, different from the world practice of establishing state languages, exists in the Russian Federation. According to Art. 68 (Part 1) of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, the state language throughout the entire territory of Russia is Russian. At the same time, part two of the same article gives the right to republics within the Russian Federation to establish their own state languages. It states that in government bodies, local government bodies, and government institutions of the republics they will be used along with the state language of the Russian Federation.

Noteworthy is the fact that the Constitution of the Russian Federation gives only the republics the right to establish their own state languages. The question arises: does the Constitution of the Russian Federation infringe on the rights of other constituent entities of the Russian Federation by giving the right to establish their own state languages only to republics. After all, in accordance with Art. 5 (part 3) all subjects of the Federation have equal rights. Regarding regions, territories, cities federal significance, then depriving them of such a right is understandable. These are Russian-speaking subjects and the question of a second state language is unlikely to arise for them.

However, in addition to the republics national entities include two other types of subjects. We are talking about one autonomous region (Jewish) and 4 autonomous okrugs, which in their legal status are equal to the republics within Russia. Is this not an infringement of their interests as full-fledged subjects of the Russian Federation, as well as the principle of equality of all peoples and nations on the territory of Russia?

It seems to us that the reason for granting the republics the right to establish their own state languages was that the Constitution of the Russian Federation recognizes them as states. However, as mentioned above, republics are not and, in principle, cannot be states in the classical sense of this concept. For this reason, it seems to us that both the autonomous region and the autonomous okrugs can lay claim to establishing their own languages, at least as an official one.

Many republics took advantage of their constitutional right and adopted laws on state languages (Republic of Mordovia, Republic of Komi, etc.). It should be emphasized that not all republics have adopted such laws (Republic of Adygea, Republic of Karelia, etc.). The opinion is expressed that in republics where the titular nation makes up a small percentage of the total population of the republic, it can hardly be considered appropriate to give status to the state language of this nation. In our opinion, one can hardly agree with this opinion. Firstly, the Constitution grants the right to establish their own state languages to all republics within the Russian Federation, regardless of whether the titular nation constitutes the majority of the population. Secondly, limit constitutional law the titular nation in any case will be discrimination against one or another people. Thirdly, whether or not to establish their own language as a state language is the right, not the obligation of each republic, and they can refuse this, but without outside influence. If we follow this principle, then titular nations constitute a majority only in a few republics, and then the Constitution’s provision on state languages may turn out to be unnecessary.

It seems to us that the question should be posed not in the sense that for some republics it is advisable to establish their own state languages, while for others it is not, but about whether the republics actually implement their constitutional rights in practice. This issue is quite complex and requires a detailed study of the actual situation regarding the implementation of the right to establish state languages.

As already mentioned, not all republics have yet adopted their respective laws. But that's not what this is about. It is important to clarify the question of whether in a particular republic office work is conducted in the language of the titular nation, whether work in government bodies is conducted in this language. state language federal nation

In the scientific literature, little attention is paid to the problem of official languages. Issues such as the scope of application of state languages and the functions of the state language have not been studied. For this reason, it would be necessary to analyze in detail the provisions of the Law of the Russian Federation “On the Languages of the Peoples of the Russian Federation” and the corresponding provisions of similar laws of the constituent entities of the Federation.

Part 2 Art. 10 of the Law of the Russian Federation “On the languages of the peoples of the Russian Federation” states that “the Russian language as the state language of the Russian Federation is studied in educational institutions and educational institutions vocational education"According to Part 3 of the same article, the teaching of state and other languages in the republics is carried out in accordance with their legislation.

According to Art. 2 (Part 1) of the Law, work in federal government bodies, government bodies of constituent entities of the Russian Federation and local government bodies is carried out in the state language of the Russian Federation. In government bodies, local self-government bodies, and government institutions of the republics, along with the state language of the Russian Federation, the state languages of the republics may be used.

The language of draft federal constitutional laws, draft federal laws, draft chambers of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation submitted for consideration State Duma and submitted to the Federation Council for consideration, is the state language of the Russian Federation.

Federal constitutional laws, federal laws, acts of the chambers of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, decrees and orders of the President of the Russian Federation, decrees and orders of the Government of the Russian Federation, according to Art. 12 of the Law “On the Languages of the Peoples of the Russian Federation” are published in the state language of the Russian Federation.

The state language of the Russian Federation is used in the preparation of elections and referendums in the Russian Federation. Election ballots and referendum ballots are printed in the state language of the Russian Federation. Protocols of voting results, election results and referendums are also printed in the state language of the Russian Federation (Article 14 of the Law).

The state language of the Russian Federation is used in the activities of bodies, organizations, enterprises and institutions of the Russian Federation (Article 15, Part 1).

Official paperwork in government bodies, organizations, enterprises and institutions is conducted in Russian as the state language of the Russian Federation (Part 1 of Article 16).

The texts of documents (forms, seals, stamps, postmarks) and signs with the names of government bodies, organizations, institutions, enterprises are drawn up in the state language of the Russian Federation (Part 2 of Article 16).

Identification documents of a citizen of the Russian Federation, civil records, work books, as well as education documents, military ID cards and other documents are drawn up in the state language of the Russian Federation, taking into account national naming traditions (Part 4 of Article 16).

Official correspondence and other forms of official relationships between government bodies, organizations, enterprises, institutions of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation with addressees in the Russian Federation are also conducted in Russian (Article 17).

Legal proceedings and paperwork in the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation are conducted in the state language of the Russian Federation, Supreme Court Russian Federation, Higher Arbitration Court Russian Federation, other federal courts, military courts, as well as office work in law enforcement agencies (Part 1 of Article 18).

The rules for determining the language of legal proceedings also apply to the language of notarial office work in state notary offices and in other government bodies performing the functions of notarial office work (Part 1, Article 19).

All-Russian newspapers and magazines, all-Russian television and radio broadcasts are published in Russian as the state language (Clause 1, Article 20).

In the fields of industry, communications, transport and energy throughout the Russian Federation, the Russian language is used as the state language (Part 1 of Article 21).

Office work in the service sector and commercial activities conducted in the state language of the Russian Federation (Part 2, Article 22).

The writing of names of geographical objects and the design of inscriptions, road and other signs are carried out in the state language of the Russian Federation.

The activities of foreign representative offices of the Russian Federation, foreign policy, foreign economic and other institutions of the Russian Federation are carried out in the state language of the Russian Federation and in the language of the corresponding country (Part 1, Article 26).

Treaties, agreements and other international acts concluded on behalf of the Russian Federation are drawn up in the state language of the Russian Federation and in the language of the other contracting party, for in other languages by mutual power of attorney of the parties (Part 2 of Article 26).

In negotiations on behalf of the Russian Federation with representatives of other countries and international organizations, the state language of the Russian Federation and other languages are used by mutual agreement of the parties and in accordance with international agreements (Part 3 of Article 26).

In relation to the Russian Federation and the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, the state language of the Russian Federation is used (Article 27).

An analysis of the relevant provisions of the Law of the Russian Federation “On the languages of the peoples of the Russian Federation” shows that the Law defines in some detail the functions and scope of use of the state language of the Russian Federation. At the same time, the Law defines the scope and territorial limits of the use of the state languages of the Russian Federation, as well as the languages of nationalities living compactly on the territory of other constituent entities of the Russian Federation.

The teaching of state and other languages in the republics is carried out in accordance with their legislation (Part 3 of Article 10).

The law gives the republics the right to use their state language along with the state language of the Russian Federation in government bodies, local government bodies, and government institutions.

At the same time, at meetings of the Federation Council and the State Duma, committees and commissions of the chambers, and at parliamentary hearings, members of the Federation Council and deputies of the State Duma have the right to speak in the state languages of the republics or other languages of the peoples of the Russian Federation, provided that the speech is translated into the state language of the Russian Federation in accordance with with the regulations of the chambers of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation. This provision equates the state languages of the republics with other languages of the peoples of the Russian Federation.

In republics, federal constitutional laws, federal laws and other federal normative legal acts, along with official publication, may be published in the state languages of the republics (Article 12). This provision does not establish equality between the state languages of the Russian Federation and the state languages of the republics when publishing federal regulations. Apparently, the texts of laws and other legal acts in this case cannot be equally authentic. The publication of such normative legal acts in the state language provides an opportunity for persons who do not speak Russian to become familiar with it in their native language, that is, it has technical significance. With the same success they could be published in the language of any nationalities living on the territory of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation (Part 2 of Article 13).

According to Part 1 of Art. 14 when preparing and conducting elections and referendums in the Russian Federation, the republics, along with the state language of the Russian Federation, have the right to use the state languages of the republics and the languages of the peoples of the Russian Federation in the territories of their compact residence. The same right is granted to other subjects of the Russian Federation. Along with the state language of the Russian Federation, they can also use the languages of the peoples of the Russian Federation in the territories of their compact residence.

Referendum ballots may be printed in the official languages of the Republics, and in necessary cases also in the languages of other peoples of the Russian Federation in the territories of their compact residence (Part 2 of Article 14).

In the activities of state bodies, organizations, enterprises and institutions of the Russian Federation, along with the state language of the Russian Federation, the state languages of the Republics and other languages of the peoples of the Russian Federation are also used (Part 1, Article 15).

Official paperwork in the republics is conducted, along with the state language of the Russian Federation, also in the state languages of the republics. The texts of documents (forms, seals, stamps, postmarks) and signs with the names of government bodies, organizations, enterprises, institutions are drawn up not only in the state language of the Russian Federation, but also in the state languages of the republics and other languages of the peoples of the Russian Federation, determined by the legislation of the republics. In principle, a similar right is granted to other constituent entities of the Russian Federation. According to Part 3 of Art. 16 of the Law, in necessary cases, official paperwork in the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, along with the state language of the Russian Federation, the state languages of the republics, can be conducted in the languages of the peoples of the Russian Federation in the territories of their compact residence.

Identity documents of a citizen of the Russian Federation, civil records, work books, as well as education documents, military IDs and other documents can be issued along with the state languages of the Russian Federation in the state language of the republic (Part 4 of Article 16).

Legal proceedings and records management in courts of general jurisdiction located on the territory of the republics can be conducted both in the state language of the Russian Federation and in the state languages of the republics. The same applies to legal proceedings and paperwork before magistrates and other courts of the constituent entities of the Federation, as well as officework in law enforcement agencies of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation (parts 1 and 2 of Article 18). This rule also applies to the language of notarial office work.

The state languages of the republics, along with the Russian language, are used in the media in the fields of industry, transport and energy communications, in the service sector and commercial activities, etc.

As you can see, the Law on the Languages of the Peoples of the Russian Federation gives the languages of the republics a special status. They are used by the population of the republics, along with the Russian language, in almost all spheres of life of the peoples of these subjects of the Russian Federation.

The law also did not ignore the languages of other peoples who do not have their own national-state or national-territorial entities, but who live compactly on the territories of both republics and other subjects of the Russian Federation. In some cases, the Law grants them equal status with the state languages of the republics.

Of course, it is impossible to completely equate the state languages of the republics with the languages of the peoples living compactly in the territories of other subjects of the Russian Federation, because this various shapes self-determination of peoples and nationalities. The fact that the languages of peoples compactly living in the territories of other subjects are placed by the Law at another level of the hierarchical ladder of languages of the Russian Federation does not mean their discrimination. On the contrary, the Law contains a number of guarantees of equality of languages in the Russian Federation.

The equality of the languages of the peoples of the Russian Federation is protected by law. No one has the right to impose restrictions or privileges on the use of a particular language, except in cases provided for by law Russian Federation. There are many situations where, along with the state languages, other languages are used on an equal basis.

The law gives the republics the right to adopt their own laws, provided that they do not contradict federal law. Many republics took advantage of this and adopted their own laws that consolidate the status of the state language. In principle, in some they are devoted specifically to the status of the state language. Such laws were adopted, for example, in Mordovia, the Komi Republic, the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic, the Republic of Bashkortostan, the Republic of Kalmykia, etc.

It should be noted that not all republics have adopted special laws on languages (the Republic of Adygea, the Republic of Karelia, North Ossetia-Alania, etc.). I think that this is not the case urgent need, since the Constitution of the Russian Federation, the Law of the Russian Federation on the languages of the peoples of the Russian Federation and the constitutions of the republics regulate language problems in some detail. However, there are some problems legislative regulation use of the state language of the Russian Federation, as well as the state languages of the republics. Among these problems, one of the most pressing is the problem of legislatively enshrining in the constitutions of some republics the requirement of language proficiency when occupying senior government positions in the republics. So, according to Art. 83 of the Constitution of the Republic of Bashkortostan, a citizen of the Republic of Bashkortostan who is at least 30 years old, has the right to vote and speaks the state languages of the Republic of Bashkortostan can be elected President of the Republic of Bashkortostan. The same provision is contained in the Constitutions of the Republic of Tatarstan, the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania, etc.

The requirement for presidential candidates in republics within the Russian Federation to know state languages is not a purely theoretical problem. In practice, during presidential elections in some republics, serious situations arose on this issue. For example, they did not register as a candidate for the position of President of the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania a person who did not speak the Ossetian language fluently, although he was Ossetian by nationality. Serious disagreements on this issue also arose in the Republic of Adygea during the elections of the President of the Republic in 1997. The Central Election Commission refused to register a candidate living in the city of Moscow and working there, due to ignorance of the second state language - the Adyghe language.

It should be noted that the requirement to know both state languages for a candidate for the post of president of the republic is assessed differently by representatives of the federal center and the republics, as well as by scientists of the republics and everyone else.

Representatives of the federal center recognize the provisions of the constitutions of the republics on the issue of knowledge of state languages by candidates for the post of president of the republic as contradicting the Constitution of the Russian Federation. In doing so, they usually refer to Art. 19, which guarantees equality of rights and freedoms of humans and citizens, regardless of gender, race, nationality, language, and other circumstances. In their opinion, restrictions on the rights of citizens, based, in particular, on linguistic affiliation, are prohibited.

Opponents of the requirement to know state languages also refer to Part 2 of Art. 32 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, in accordance with which citizens of the Russian Federation have the right to elect and be elected to government bodies.

The provisions on knowledge of state languages by presidential candidates recorded in the constitutions of some republics were also recognized as unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation.

So, should a candidate for president of the republic speak both Russian and the state language of the titular nation? Apparently, it is impossible to give a definitive negative answer to this question. There is no prohibition in either the constitution or federal laws additional requirements, which must be presented to candidates applying for senior positions in the republics, as well as in other constituent entities of the Russian Federation. Those articles of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, which critics of the requirement to know both state languages refer to, do not actually contain any specific provisions against these requirements. The fact that the state guarantees equality of rights and freedoms of man and citizen, regardless of gender, race, nationality, language, as well as other circumstances, does not yet mean that we can draw specific conclusions about the inadmissibility of republics establishing a requirement for presidential candidates to know both state languages . If we think like this, then any restriction on passive suffrage can be considered a violation of the rights of citizens: for example, length of residence, age, etc. Requirements for knowledge of state languages are provided for by the constitutions of the republics, and they, as is known, are the basic laws of the republics. For example, no one in the United States of America disputes the constitutional provision that only a citizen by birth can be elected President of the United States, although technically it violates the principle of equal rights of citizens.

Opponents of the requirement to know state languages also refer to Part 2 of Art. 38 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, according to which citizens of the Russian Federation have the right, in particular, to elect and be elected to government bodies. This right supposedly refers to the fundamental rights and freedoms of man and citizen, which, in accordance with the Constitution of Russia, are directly applicable. They determine the meaning, content and application of laws, the activities of the legislative and executive powers, local self-government and are ensured by justice.

The Constitutional Court twice discussed this issue and came to the conclusion that the Constitutions and electoral law of the republics (the Republic of Khakassia, the Republic of Bashkortostan) cannot establish additional conditions for candidates for senior government positions. However, not all members of the Constitutional Court shared this opinion. Thus, in the Resolution of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation dated June 24, 1997 No. 9-P there is special opinion Judge of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation N.V. Vitruk in the case of verifying the constitutionality of the provisions of Articles 74 (part one) and 90 of the Constitution of the Republic of Khakassia, which noted that passive suffrage (the right to be a candidate for deputy, a candidate for elected public office) differs from active suffrage, including in that that the constitution and electoral laws may establish additional conditions for candidates: knowledge of the state language, etc.

Based on the above, the following conclusions can be drawn:

- the use of the term “state language” in relation to the languages of the titular nations of the republics within the Russian Federation is conditional, since the republics are not states in the classical sense of this concept; most likely, other terms should be used, for example, “official language”, “language of office work”, “working language”, etc.;
- since all subjects of the Russian Federation, according to the Constitution of the Russian Federation, are equal in rights, equality should be achieved between the languages of the titular nations of all autonomous formations;
- the presence of provisions on the state languages of the republics in the Constitution of the Russian Federation does not indicate the special status of the republics in the system of constituent entities of the Russian Federation;
- The Law of the Russian Federation “On the Languages of the Russian Federation” does not contain provisions on the difference between the languages of the titular nation of the republics and the languages of the titular nations of other national-state entities.

Notes

1. Commentary on the law on the languages of the peoples of the Russian Federation / ed. A.S. Pigolkina. - M., 1993. P. 8.
2. Vasilyeva L.N. On the question of legal regulation use of state law // Journal Russian law. 2002. - P. 10, 29.

The official language is a language that has the corresponding legal status, which in a given country is used in the activities (including in official office work) of state authorities and local governments, government agencies, enterprises and organizations, as well as when publishing laws and other regulatory legal acts.

As a rule, the state language enjoys special support and care from the state for the purpose of its dissemination and development. Often, issues of studying, developing and using the state language are regulated by special legal acts. Sometimes languages with similar status and social functions are called official languages, but they do not have strict obligatory and universal character.

In some countries, two or more languages are declared as official languages. This is mainly caused by the multinational, multi-ethnic composition of the population of this state. Thus, in Finland there are two official languages - Finnish and Swedish, in Malta there are also two official languages - Maltese and English, in India - Hindi and English, and in Switzerland there are four official languages - German, French, Italian and Romansh. In Canada, in order not to aggravate relations between English-speaking and French-speaking Canadians, instead of the status of the state language, two official languages have been established - English and French.

In those multinational multiethnic states in which the status of the state language is given only to the language of the titular ethnic group, as a rule, this leads to the displacement of languages of national minorities, their discrimination and interethnic tension. This situation has developed in most neighboring countries, where the Russian and Russian-speaking population, finding themselves in the position of national minorities, are deprived of the conditions for the full implementation of a set of human rights and freedoms, primarily in the national-linguistic sphere. Only in Belarus there are two state languages - Belarusian and Russian; in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, the Russian language is declared (along with the state) as an official language. In other neighboring countries, inter-national and inter-ethnic conflicts arise on interlingual grounds.

All this confirms the conclusion that the problem of the state language has important political, social, cultural, spiritual and psychological significance. Dissatisfaction with ethno-linguistic policies may be one of the reasons for interethnic tension and separatist aspirations of discriminated against ethnic groups. In a democratic society, to eliminate this situation, the practice of giving several major languages the status of state languages is used.

Russia is a multinational, multiethnic state. According to the 2002 census, people of 182 nationalities live on its territory, with Russians making up about 80% of the total population. Therefore, regulation of the use of languages in Russia is a problem of constitutional significance. In Art. 68 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation states that the state language of the Russian Federation throughout its territory is Russian. Republics within the Russian Federation have the right to establish their own state languages. The Russian Federation guarantees all its peoples the right to preserve their native language and create conditions for its study and development.

Thus, throughout the entire Russian Federation there is only one state language - Russian, i.e. the language of the state-forming and largest nation of Russia. The Federation creates conditions for all Russian citizens to study the state language. In all educational institutions, except preschools, the study of the Russian language is regulated by unified state educational standards. At the same time, in the interests of citizens who do not speak this language, it is provided that they can use the language they speak in government bodies, organizations, enterprises and institutions of Russia, and in cases provided for by law, they are provided with an appropriate translation.

At the same time, in Russia everyone has the right to use their native language, to freely choose the language of communication, education, training and creativity (Article 26 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation). The Law “On the Languages of the Peoples of the RSFSR” of October 25, 1991 states that the promotion of hostility and disdain for any language, the creation of obstacles, restrictions and privileges in the use of languages that are contrary to the Constitution and other violations of the legislation on the languages of the peoples of Russia and its republics are unacceptable .

In the political and legal sense, the status of the state language is close to official language, which differs from it only in its less strict status and regulation. Therefore, these two names - state and official - are often used as equivalent. The language of the state, international organization, congresses, conferences, in which office work, correspondence is conducted and public speeches are made in government bodies, at meetings, radio, television, etc., is proclaimed as the official language.

Typically, the official language is proclaimed in those countries that are multinational and multiethnic and where there are ethnolinguistic problems. The introduction of an official language is typical for many countries in Asia, Africa, and America. Thus, in a number of states that were colonial in the past, the languages of the former metropolises became such languages. Of the 55 countries in Africa, in 21 countries the official language is French (including in 8 cases together with English or some local language), in 19 countries - English (in 9 cases with some other language), in 5 countries - Portuguese.

The status of an official language is given to the working languages of certain international organizations. Thus, Russian is recognized as the official language in the International Astronautical Federation (IAF), the International Federation sports medicine(FIMS), etc. Six languages - English, French, Russian, Spanish, Arabic and Chinese - are the official and working languages of the UN.