ПОЛИТИКА

The right of indigenous peoples to health belongs to the category of specially protected social rights and is associated with the maintenance of the standard of living and health, which allows maintaining sustainable existence and development of the ethnic group in the era of global transformations and industrial development. The presented analytical material demonstrates the level of implementation of the international standards of the World Health Organization in relation to indigenous peoples, as well as the Convention standards of the International Labor Organization, in the national and regional legislation of the Russian Federation in relation to Arctic subjects. The degree of regulatory and institutional provision of the right to health of small indigenous peoples is directly proportional to the level of economic development of the subjects, as well as their status within the administrative and territorial division of Russia: republican status or fuel and energy potential.

A book focuses on Russia’s efforts to resolve the ethnopolitical conflict in Transcaucasia that had grown into a real war, especially at the most difficult stage of active and fierce hostilities, right up to the conclusion of a ceasefire agreement, in effect since 12 May 1994. The author, Vladimir Kazimirov, who was the head of Russia’s mediatory mission, Plenipotentiary Representative of the Russian President for Political Settlement of the Conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh (1992–1996), reveals the content of the mediator’s very complicated work with the conflicting parties, full of all kinds of vicissitudes, offering characterisations of the participants in that process and an assessment of their positions. Worthy of note are the judgements of the author, a one-time participant in, and co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, on cooperation and rivalry with Western partners which sought, in the guise of conflict settlement efforts, to restrict or curtail Russia’s influence in the region. The book incorporates the author’s articles and statements on the Karabakh conflict. The appendix contains international documents on the settlement of the conflict, as well as documents on Russia’s mediation and a timeline of Karabakh settlement.

The cultural rights of indigenous peoples are one of the most important categories of rights, which are directly related to traditional natural resources use and maintenance of ancient ancestors’ traditions for future generations. The notion of culture includes the whole range of vital issues and activities in each indigenous community

Since the announcement of the pivot to Asia, enough time has passed to sum up the results and to evaluate the existing achievements and failures of Russia’s new policy. However, despite some breakthrough, many issues remain open Most of the government’s attempts in this area have not led to any fundamental changes, as the measures taken are often unsystematic and inconsistent. The majority of the actions are reactive, taken after the challenges have emerged. Therefore, further development of the region requires some more dynamic actions and larger strategy, where the central place belongs to Russian Far East and Siberia. Thus, our task is to determine the content of the «pivot to Asia» policy, its possible directions and the main format.