To the problem of state national policy in the Russian empire of the XIX century

The article deals with the state national policy in the Russian Empire of the XIX century, in order to identify and evaluate its problems. To identify the problem, this paper uses the approach of such modern historians as F. Cooper, J. Burbank, where there is a division of national policy into direct and indirect. Precisely in the XIX century, according to the authors of this work, one can trace the signs of direct and indirect national policies in the Russian history. Historical assessment of the experience and problems of the state national policy is relevant for Russian science in view of the peculiarities and diversity of the national composition of Russia. The study highlights the political, economic, and historical factors of the changing nature of the Russian Empire’s national policy. In this regard, the authors conclude that the Russian Empire’s national policy of the XIX century had a contradictory nature, which may have caused consequences expressed, in particular, in the strengthening of ethnic tensions and separatist tendencies.