The state policy of the Russian Federation to support compatriots living abroad: the content and mechanisms of implementation (a case study of the Siberian Federal District in the 2000s)

The state policy of the Russian Federation in support of compatriots living abroad as a separate line of foreign policy began to take shape after the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991. It was caused by the necessity of interaction with the Russian and Russian-speaking population who found themselves outside Russia in the former Soviet republics, most of which embarked to build a nation-state. Meanwhile, the major policy actors in this area are the federal center and the regions. Two areas of work with compatriots are identified: assistance in migration to the territory of Russia and cooperation with compatriots living abroad (in the near and far abroad). Positioning these two direction as a priority of Russian foreign policy is actively seen in the rhetoric of the representatives of the authorities. Meanwhile, to highlight the support of compatriots policy as a separate direction of the external activities of the state is necessary for its implementation system. Its main components are the legal, organizational and economic mechanisms. The aim of the article is to identify mechanisms for implementing policies to support compatriots abroad in the regions of the Siberian Federal District (SFD) and their compliance with the definition of this area as a priority in national and regional foreign policy activities. Having considered mechanisms for the implementation of regional policy in support of compatriots in SFD regions, it can be concluded that institutional, legal and financial arrangements do not allow to speak about its complex nature. Due to the fact that regions are the sources of co-financing of public policies in support of compatriots, the main burden of the financial support of their activities is on the regional budgets. This explains the fact that in most SFD regions policy in this area is not comprehensive and systematic. The activity is within the competence of several authorities and is implemented either on the basis of departmental target programs and action plans or as individual unit activities within the competence of the relevant authorities. To highlight the policy as a separate direction, it is necessary, on the one hand, to form a central competent authority responsible for the implementation of related activities; on the other hand, to provide target financing and a rigid reporting system for the allocation of funds. In this regard, it seems appropriate to implement policies in this area through departmental target programs (following the practices of Altai Krai and Tomsk Oblast) by the competent bodies of the executive power. It is also necessary to use the experience of regional leaders engaged in the systematic policy to support compatriots (primarily the Altai region) from other SFD regions, taking into account their own economic and social conditions and financial opportunities, as well as the experience of other Russian regions broadly cooperating with compatriots and their organizations and countries of residence.

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