Fostering the Return of Compatriots (Concerning Rehabilitation of Ethno-Cultural Principle)

To ignore the ethno-cultural principle in defining the notion of ‘compatriot’ means recognition of too wide circle of people as such. Today the risk of turning the State program on fostering voluntary migration of compatriots from the repatriation project (the initial idea) into foreign labour recruiting is obvious. For instance, opportunities are limited for elderly and people with moderate means, who know Russian, belong to peoples of Russia and are ready to integrate into Russian society; representatives of title nations of some post-soviet states are recognized as compatriots though they do not possess the mentioned-above socio-cultural features; the same corruption costs typical of labour migration are formed; the quality of human capital provided at the expense of the State program does not comply with the Constitution of the Russian Federation and needs of Russian society development. To fill state policy with the adequate repatriation content it is necessary to revise its goals, bring them into line with the Constitution; to concretize the legal basis of the repatriation institution (return to the homeland) of compatriots, primary importance should be assigned to cultural-morale categories but not to economic ones. The key sociocultural features are mastering the Russian language, belonging to peoples of Russia and readiness to integrate into Russian society. Ideology of the State program should proceed from repatriation aims but not from recruiting ones. The author points out that it is necessary to reform the system of the State program implementation by providing it with the adequate way of selecting candidates in accordance with their socio-cultural features; opportunities to support elderly and those with moderate means for returning them to the historic homeland; elimination of commercial element in work with compatriots (both in countries of departure and on the territory of Russia); infrastructure for initial adaptation and further integration in Russian society. The article analyzes certain aspects of the State program and aims at identification of system problems of this repatriation project, as well as formulation of suggestions for their settlement and optimization of state policy in the field of migration.

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