Global trends and global transformations, caused by the demands of modern life, the intertwining of economic, social, political and many other factors, have led to the gradual integration of European countries, the formation of a global information field, the growing interdependence of "national" economies. The genesis of the rights of national minorities is a closed issue for the general public, a historical path, taken by national minorities in the direction of establishing a modern system of human rights protection and building a new international order that has not only theoretical, but also practical significance.At the same time, there are attempts to resist the processes of internationalization, autarky, recurrences of imperial thinking, nationalism and growing intolerance of members of the minority. Often, both at the household level and in the official political and legal doctrine, the wrong formula of ethnocentrism works, according to which it seems enough to "close borders" or "self-determine" to solve any problem, but life refutes these illusions, which is confirmed by the conclusions of the article.It is no coincidence, that legal science has not yet developed a generally accepted concept of "national minority", and often in official documents and scientific works, national minorities are not separated from other social groups (linguistic, religious, racial and others) and from the broader category of "minority". It is obvious, that the problem of scientific definition of this concept is determined by the complexity and multifaceted problems of building a democratic state, governed by the rule of law