The article proposes the concept of cultural federalism, which contributes to the sustainability of ethnic cultures in the era of global unification. The new understanding of federalism revives the meanings of modernity, contributing to the synergy of Russia’s multinational culture, overcoming alienation, and disintegration of multiculturalism.

The novelty of the topic lies in the substantiation of the concept of cultural federalism vs ethno-federalism. The concept is adequate to the cultural situation of modern Russia, its multinational cultural capital, capable of countering the secession with the integration model of interaction and mutual enrichment of cultural programs. The cultural federalism contributes to the development of a national Russian idea, the absence of which reduces the effect of national consolidation and nation-building.

The proposed concept serves as a tool for resolving the contradiction between the form and content of the “sleeping” ethnic federalism. The article considers the dialectical self-development of the federation subjects entering the era of organic socio-cultural modernization. This is expressed by the ethno-cultural renaissance in the field of art. Thus, the ethno-modern in the art of Yakutia demonstrates productivity, ensuring the sustainability of the ethnic cultures of the North-East of Russia from the erosion of their moral and spiritual foundations.