Ethnic and cultural diversity as a category of constitutional law

The article discusses the constitutional and legal meaning of the concept of "ethnocultural and linguistic diversity", which was introduced in Article 69 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation following the constitutional amendment of 2020. The author proposes to consider this concept not only as a set of languages and ethnic cultures, but also as a state of society where different peoples interact with each other on an equal footing, in conditions of interethnic peace and harmony. An essential feature of ethnocultural diversity is political unity, which means the integration of different ethnic groups into a single social entity (the Russian nation) based on a shared national identity. Moreover, ethnocultural diversity can also be regarded as a constitutional value and principle. The provisions of the Russian Constitution that aim to support, preserve, and promote ethnic and cultural diversity are explored. It is proposed to differentiate ethnocultural and linguistic diversity from related concepts such as multi-ethnicity and multiculturalism.