HISTORICAL-LEGAL FUNDAMENTALS OF THE STATE RUSSIAN POLITICS IN XVI-XVIII CENTURIES TOWARDS ABORIGINAL PEOPLES ON THE EXAMPLE OF THE MORDVINS

The rationale of the study is the uniqueness of the system of the multi-national and multi-confessional Russian state. Peoples' inclusion into a single state legal framework determined the need to develop a relevant ethnic legal policy. In this regard, this paper is aimed at articulating the legal fundamentals of the Russian politics in XVI-XVIII centuries towards aboriginal peoples on the example of the Mordvins. The paper discusses the key aspects of the Mordvins’ life under the Russian law. It looks into 16th-18th centuries regulations regarding non-Russians that determined the specifics of their adaptation within Russia. The study is mainly based on the formal-legal, historical-legal methodology with emphasis on sociocultural and legal-anthropological approaches, which made it possible to historically and legally assess laws and regulations that reflect specifics of Mordvins’ position in the 16th-18th centuries. The paper has a practical value for improving the legislation for inter-ethnic relations and strengthening the foundations of federalism as the key characteristic of the Russian state.