Party Debates on the Status of the Russian Population in National-Territorial Units within the RSFSR at the Height of the Korenizatsiia in the 1920s

After the collapse of the USSR, interethnic relations escalated both within the new states that are former republics of the USSR and between them. The origins of this situation should be sought in the national policy of the USSR, starting with the policy of korenizatsiia in the 1920s. One of the thorny issue was the Russian question. It consisted in the belittling the interests of the Russian people as former oppressors of the peoples of the Russian Empire in order to compensate for the inequality of peoples. The aim of this work is to analyze opinions on the Russian question of party leaders at various levels in the 1920s. The study is based on such sources as transcripts of party meetings, speeches, letters, and articles of party leaders. Issues under consideration also include the problem of the place of Russians in the national policy of the Bolsheviks, discussions around the idea of creating the Russian Republic and the position of Russians in national republics of the RSFSR.