The article organizes and standardizes terms related to state ethnic policy using ethnological and social perspectives. It clarifies concepts like "nation" and "ethnic minority" to better understand the goals of protecting ethnic rights. The study proposes a new way to view old Soviet notions like "nationality" and "nationality" through constructivism. It emphasizes the importance of a universal terminological framework for analyzing public policies on ethnic minorities. The research defines terms like "national minority" and "compact and divided nationalities" to improve the management of ethnic processes in society.