Yes, in July 2021, Ukraine passed the "Law on Indigenous Peoples of Ukraine," which was adopted by the Verkhovna Rada (Ukraine's parliament) on July 1, 2021, and signed into law by President Volodymyr Zelensky on July 22, 2021. This law defines and grants specific rights to groups recognized as indigenous peoples of Ukraine, specifically identifying the Crimean Tatars, Karaites, and Krymchaks—all ethnic groups historically tied to Crimea—as indigenous. Notably, Russians are not included in this designation.
The law does not explicitly state that "Russians are not indigenous" in those exact words, but it defines indigenous peoples as ethnic communities that:
Formed on Ukrainian territory,
Possess a distinct language and culture,
Have traditional social, cultural, or representative structures,
Self-identify as indigenous to Ukraine, and
Do not have a state of their own outside Ukraine.
Since Russians have their own state (Russia), they do not meet this final criterion and are therefore excluded from being classified as an indigenous people under this law. Instead, Russians in Ukraine are considered a national minority, a status governed by separate legislation, such as the 1992 Law on National Minorities and the later 2022 Law No. 2827-IX on National Minorities (Communities), adopted in December 2022 and effective from May 2023.
The 2021 law does not deny Russians rights outright. It focuses on granting specific cultural, educational, linguistic, and political rights to the designated indigenous groups, such as the right to education in their native languages, the establishment of representative bodies (e.g., the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People), and state funding for their cultural preservation. National minorities, including Russians, Poles, Hungarians, and others, are afforded rights under Ukraine’s Constitution and the aforementioned minority laws, which include protections against discrimination and the right to use their languages in certain contexts. However, these rights are distinct from and less extensive than those granted to indigenous peoples under the 2021 law.
The exclusion of Russians from the indigenous category sparked significant controversy, particularly from Russia. Russian officials, including President Vladimir Putin, criticized the law, claiming it discriminated against Russians by categorizing them as non-indigenous, with Putin comparing it to Nazi policies and calling it a "weapon of mass destruction" against Russian identity in Ukraine. Ukraine’s leadership, including Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, countered that the law aligns with international standards, such as the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and that Russians, as a national minority, retain constitutionally protected rights equal to other minorities.
In summary, the 2021 Law on Indigenous Peoples of Ukraine does not explicitly deny Russians rights but excludes them from indigenous status, reserving enhanced protections for the Crimean Tatars, Karaites, and Krymchaks. This distinction reflects Ukraine’s broader geopolitical stance, particularly regarding Crimea’s annexation by Russia in 2014, and has been interpreted by some as a symbolic move to assert Ukrainian sovereignty and support the indigenous groups of Crimea, while differentiating them from the Russian population.
