Russia’s National Cultural Autonomies Expand Their Presence on the Internet

Paul Goble

            Staunton, November 16 – There are about 20 federations of the some 200 national cultural autonomies of particular ethnic groups in the Russian Federation, organizations that some hope and others fear may eventually be invoked by the state as sufficient recognition of the ethnic minorities of the country.

            They seldom attract much attention except in terms of discussions about the possible elimination of the national republics, but they play a role, large in some cases and very small in others, in linking members of dispersed groups together and tying as appropriate them to co-ethnic groups abroad.

            Given that role, the Internet would seem to be a natural place for them to operate; and the Nazaccent portal today provides a useful listing of those federations of national cultural associations which have websites (nazaccent.ru/content/28663-est-li-fnka-v-internete.html). Below is the list it provides of these sites:

·         The Federation of the National Cultural Autonomies of Russian Tsygane -- tsganerossii.rf

·         The Federation of the National Cultural Autonomies of the Ukrainians of Russia -- fnkaur.ru/

·         The Federation of the National Cultural Autonomies of the Kurds of Russia -- fnkakurd.ru/

·         The Federation of the National Cultural Autonomies of the Tatars -- fnkat.tatarstan.ru/

·         The Federation of the National Cultural Autonomies of the Armenians of Russia -- sarinfo.org/

·         The All-Russian Union of Koreans -- ook-media.ru/ 

·         The Federation of the National Cultural Autonomies of the Belarusians of Russia -- belros.org/

·         The Federal Jewish National cultural Autonomy -- фенка.рф/

·         The Federation of the National Cultural Autonomies of the Greeks of Russia -- rusgreek.ru/

·         The Federation of the National Cultural Autonomies of Georgians in Russia -- kartvelebi.ru/

·         The Federation of the National Cultural Autonomies of Moldovans -- fnkamd.ru/

·         The Federation of the National Cultural Autonomies of Kazakhs of Russia --kazah.org/ 

·         The Congress of the Poles of Russia -- poloniarosji.ru/ru

·         The Federation of the National Cultural Autonomies of the Russian Germans -- rusdeutsch.ru/   

·         The Lezgin Federal National Cultural Autonomy -- flnka.ru/

·         The Federation of the National Cultural Autonomies of Azerbaijanis -- fnkaa.ru/

·         The Association of the Indigenous Numerically Small Peoples of the North, Siberia and the Far East -- raipon.infor

            Nazaccent notes that the Lithuanians, Nogays, Karachays, Assyrians and Chuvash have federations of national cultural autonomies but do not have web pages. Most of the sites are entirely in Russian, although some have articles in the languages of their respective poulations. All give contact information, and many are updated regularly.