Under Putin, the prospects for civil rights and prosperity in Russia are grim, indeed, and the scapegoating of minorities that we are witnessing there is typical of tyrants who have made a mess of their country with their own ham-fisted policies, their own corruption, their tolerance of corruption in civil administration, in the police and in commerce.
If the Mari wish to be left in peace, if the Estonians want a border-treaty, & etc., the best strategy is to avoid drawing attention to themselves while Putin remains in-charge.
Better prospects under a post-Putin government may not materialize; nonetheless, they can hardly be worse.