ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the discussion of minority rights standards to incorporate international standards in their intersection with the Russian domestic environment. It illustrates the notion of legal transplantation, and theories on the role of cultural and socio-political factors in the relevant processes and describes the dynamic interaction of Russian and Western European legal traditions. International standards on minority rights have the potential to influence the dynamics of diversity preservation or assimilation in Russia. They can play a role in furthering the promotion of cultural and linguistic wealth, or remain a mere appendage at the periphery of a more or less covert Russian nationalist discourse that marginalises other cultures. The chapter also outlines aspects of Russia's history that are relevant to the understanding of its present minority policies, and their interplay with international standards on minority rights, as well as the Russian leadership's attitudes.
