Abstract: The subject of the study is the norms of the national law of the Russian Federation on the protection and preservation of languages, as well as the norms and principles of international law in this area. The object of the research of this article is the relations in the field of legal regulation of the protection and preservation of the languages of indigenous peoples and local communities.
Based on comparative legal, formal legal and systematic research methods, the article presents an analysis of the legal foundations of language policy in Russia, as well as the provisions of international legal acts in the field of the protection of the languages of indigenous peoples and local communities, namely: the Declaration of Principles of International Cultural Cooperation of 1966, the UN Declaration on the Principles of International Law of 1970., The European Convention on Human Rights of 1950, the European Charter of Regional or National Minority Languages of 1992, as well as PACE resolutions and recommendations. The novelty of this study lies in the fact that the authors conducted a comprehensive analysis of the modern legal foundations of language policy in Russia. In the article, the authors consider in detail the concepts of "national minorities" and "cultural values" in accordance with the national legislation of the Russian Federation and international legal acts. The authors come to the conclusion that the Russian historical experience and modern practice of preserving the languages of national minorities, as well as the legal mechanism for the protection of languages provided for by the Constitution of the Russian Federation and other normative legal acts, in many ways surpasses the mechanism provided for by the European Charter. Thus, the exclusion of Russia from the Council of Europe will not negatively affect their protection and preservation within our state.