Деятельность Совета государств Балтийского моря по защите прав национальных меньшинств в 1990-е годы

Балтийский регион. 2025. Т. 17. № 3. С. 23–41.

Panikar M., Соколова Ф. Х., Белошицкая Н. Н.

The article explores the activity of the Council of the Baltic Sea States on promoting the rights of the national minorities throughout the period from 1994 to 2000. The research is based on the detailed analysis of the documents from the Foreign Policy Archive of the Russian Federation and represents the first time these documents have been studied scientifically. The chronological framework of the research is determined by the period when Ole Espersen held the office of the Commissioner for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, Including the Rights of Persons Belonging to Minorities. The authors came to the conclusion that Russia, having concerns with the situation of the Russian-speaking population in the Baltic States, initiated the CBSS’ activity on promoting the rights of the national minorities. Despite the fact that the issue of discrimination against the Russian-speaking population in the Baltic States was not fully resolved, the activity of the CBSS Commissioner contributed greatly to the standardisation of the legal and institutional framework for safeguarding the rights of the vulnerable population groups, primarily national minorities. The authors believe that the Commissioner‘s activity facilitated the formation and development of the European human rights institutions and encouraged Russia to enhance the national legislation in this field.

Keywords: международное сотрудничество, внешняя политика России, национальные меньшинства, Совет государств Балтийского моря