spiritual

Introduction. The complexity of determining the objects of intangible heritage and establishing organizational and legal mechanisms for their protection is due to the fact that we are talking about non-materialized processes and phenomena for which it is impossible to accurately calculate the degree of preservation. This is how they diff er from traditional museum objects and monuments of culture and art, therefore, it is diffi cult to develop a set of measures aimed at their conservation. Theoretical analysis. A comparative legal analysis of the defi nitions of intangible heritage in the Convention and the Model Law of the CIS countries allows us to conclude that there is a conceptual teleological diff erence in approaches to understanding intangible heritage that should be protected: exclusively empirical, in which any manifestation of folk culture that has uniqueness and originality is protected; complex, including axiological, ethical, normative and empirical aspects, assuming a certain assessment of various traditions, customs, folklore heritage, plots and images. Empirical analysis. Consideration of federal legislation has revealed the fragmentary nature of the norms governing relations for the preservation, popularization and development of the intangible cultural heritage of the peoples of the Russian Federation. The absence of a single legal concept of “intangible cultural heritage” is a signifi cant gap in the current legislation on culture and does not contribute to the eff ective protection of its objects. The envisaged Register (catalog) of Intangible Heritage Objects of the Peoples of the Russian Federation is at the initial stage of its formation. Results. According to the results of the study, the author concludes that it is currently necessary to develop a unifi ed concept for the protection of intangible cultural heritage, which would combine unifi ed universal approaches to the protection of the intangible cultural heritage of the peoples of Russia and the specifi cs of their protection, taking into account the uniqueness and originality of objects, and would contribute to increasing interest of people of such culture in its preservation and popularization.