National Culture Associations as Subjects of Crosscultural Communications in Altai Krai of the Russian Federation

The article analyzes the role of National Culture Associations and Ethnic Cultural Autonomies in cross-cultural communication of ethnic groups in one of the territories of the Russian Federation – Altai Krai. It is emphasized that National Culture Associations are non-governmental organizations of citizens of a certain ethnicity, created for preserving and promoting national culture and maintaining ethnic identity. It is confirmed that National Culture Associations fulfill two main functions: they are guardians of cultural diversity and intermediary-distributors of ethnic cultures in the multicultural society. In the age of globalization of economic and political relations, there is a distinct expansion of the cross-cultural communication sphere.