Russia’s small indigenous ethnic entities receive new rights
© RIA Novosti. Michael Klimentyev

Russia’s small indigenous ethnic entities receive new rights

President Vladimir Putin has signed amendments to the federal law On Guaranteeing the Rights of Small Indigenous Ethnic Entities of the Russian Federation.

The new version of the law allows local governments to establish unofficial councils of representatives of ethnic minorities for defending their rights.

The councils can be established by the heads of municipal entities in areas where these peoples live and engage in traditional economic activity.

This removes an obstacle that prevented indigenous ethnic minorities from exercising the right to delegate their authorized representatives to the councils of such entities' representatives in local governments.

In all, 40 small indigenous peoples numbering about 244,000 live in Russia's sub-Arctic, Arctic, Siberian and Far Eastern regions.