Russia Quits Framework Convention For Protection Of National Minorities

The Russian Foreign Ministry said on August 14 that Moscow had withdrawn two weeks earlier from the Council of Europe's Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities (FCPNM). Russia signed the convention in February 1996. President Vladimir Putin endorsed the law approving Russia’s exit from the FCPNM in October. According to the official data, there are 193 ethnic groups in the Russian Federation speaking in at least 270 languages and dialects. Activists in Russia's ethnic republics and regions have complained about Moscow's policies threatening indigenous ethnic groups' languages and cultures. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Russian Service, click here.