The issues of socio-cultural development of Russia and the strengthening of traditional Russian spiritual and moral values are becoming increasingly relevant in connection with the new challenges of our time. At the same time, in this context, the problem of learning the language, which is the main carrier of the culture and national identity of the people, is of no small importance. In this regard, the value of the Russian language is emphasized by its significant potential in shaping the civic identity of Russians and Russian ethnic identity. Therefore, it is very significant that in a number of normative documents of recent years, the need to preserve and strengthen the positions of the Russian language is indicated as the most important task. Despite the obvious attention and wide coverage of language topics in legislative documents, socio-political and scientific discourse, there are some controversial points. In this connection, the purpose of this work is to identify the contradictions enshrined in the regulatory framework, the materials of which are somehow related to the language policy of the Russian Federation, and to determine their impact on the socio-cultural development of the state. Among the main tasks was the study of normative documents, legislative acts and scientific literature on the issues of language policy. The main research methods used were content analysis of legal documentation, analysis of studies on controversial aspects of language policy, comparison, and generalization. The analysis revealed the presence in the language legislation of the Russian Federation of controversial issues regarding the definition of the status of the Russian language and the scope of its application as a state language, the lack of a clear understanding of the category "native language". It is shown that more precise formulations can reduce potential conflict situations, for example, language conflicts in the republics of such a multinational state as Russia. The practical significance of the study lies in the fact that the materials can be used to clarify the wording in regulatory documents, including the further improvement of the concept of the language policy of the Russian Federation.