Harmonization of Interfaith and Interethnic Relations as a Strategic Goal of the State Policy of the Republic of Karelia

Abstract

The relevance of the work is determined by the need to analyze the regional practice of managing ethnic, cultural and religious diversity in the context of the implementation of the state national policy of Russia and modern migration and global challenges. The purpose of the research is to study the institutional changes, stages and key programmatic mechanisms of the state ethnic and confessional policy of the Republic of Karelia. The methodological basis of the research consists of institutional and program-target analysis, comparative historical and document analysis methods. The empirical base of the research materials is represented by the state programs of the Republic of Karelia, regulatory legal acts of the regional level, analytical materials of the executive authorities of the region in the field of interethnic and interfaith relations. The results of the study demonstrate that the state policy implemented in Karelia effectively contributes to the harmonization of interethnic and interfaith relations, taking into account the ethnoconfessional diversity of the region and its historical and cultural characteristics. A stable model of interaction between the state, religious organizations and national public associations has been formed in the Republic of Karelia, ensuring a high level of interethnic and interfaith harmony. The main stages of the regional policy evolution, key institutional mechanisms for its implementation and factors contributing to the political and social stability of the republic are identified.