Russian Federation

The alleged success of former president (and current prime minister) Vladimir Putin in recentralizing the Russian Federation requires critical appraisal. A number of limitations to the reunification project, as Putin initially conceived it almost a decade ago, are emerging. A growing number of Russian and international scholars assert that center-regional relations did not change all that much during Putin's presidency and that the mono-polar system of power within most regions remains intact, which not only impedes democratic accountability in the federation but also makes the federal center's supervision over regional elites problematic. Publicly, those elites express almost ritual loyalty to the Kremlin, yet informal room for bargaining between Moscow and the provinces still exists, as does financial asymmetry within the federation, just as in the 1990s.

2003

Where did Russia's federal state come from, where has it been, where is it going, and why does it matter beyond a small circle of Russia specialists? Taking the last question first, the success or failure of Russia's transformation into a stable market democracy will determine the degree of stability throughout Eurasia. For such a large multinational state, successful political and economic development depends on building an efficient democratic federal system. Indeed, one of the main institutional factors leading to the demise of the Soviet partocratic regime and state was the considerably noninstitutionalized status of the RSFSR (Russian Republic) in the Soviet Union's pseudofederal, national-territorial administrative structure. Only a democratic federal system can hold together and effectively manage Russia's vast territory, the awkward administrative structure inherited from the failed USSR, and hundreds of divergent ethnic, linguistic, and religious interests. ...

On May 7 th , Vladimir Putin was sworn in for a third term as President of the Russian Federation. It appears that he has begun to look for some form of wide-sweeping project on which to base his legacy. In the midst of the recent presidential election, Putin promoted the notion of a Eurasian Union, a supranational entity that would see closer economic and political ties between the Russian Federation and its neighbours.

The Cambridge Globalist, 2016

Federalism in Russia is far from a dead topic, and the subjects of separatism and secession are as relevant now as they were in the early 1990s. “I had not thought of the idea of the Russian Federation [falling apart] since the beginning of the 1990s, but, maybe five years ago, some Russian political scientists [from think tanks] started telling me that they thought that [the country] would explode into four or five parts within twenty years … Openly, they supported Putin, but [in private] they showed themselves to be much more sceptical of the system than even Westerners. This was happening after conferences, at dinner parties, etc.,” said Cécile Vaissié, professor of Russian and Soviet studies at l’Université Rennes 2, during our 2016 interview.

2002

In its 1000 year history, the year 2001 was the best year yet for legal reform in Russia. In this article we briefly summarize significant developments in Russian laws covering land reform, joint stock companies, taxes and labor. In addition, Part III of the Civil Code has become effective creating more certainty with respect to inheritances.

2013

2003

List of tables, boxes and appendices Tables 1.1 Asymmetry of population of fully fledged constituent units in federal systems page 2.1 Dates of declarations of sovereignty 4.1 Ethnic composition of the republics, 1989 4.2 Ethnic composition of the autonomous areas, 1989 4.3 Ethnic composition of government elite in Bashkortostan, 1990-97 4.4 Ethnic representation of parliamentary elite, 1980-95 5.1 Share of the income of federal and territorial (subnational) budgets in total state revenue, 1992-2001 5.2 Top ten and bottom ten regions of Russia according to volume of gross regional product (GRP) in 1998 and industrial production (IP) in 1999 5.3 Ten largest regions according to their share of total volume of foreign investment in 1995 and 1999 (%) 5.4 Concentration of tax contributions to the federal budget, 1996-98 5.5 Regional variations in per capita income and expenditure, 1999 5.6 Measuring poverty in Russia's regions, 1996-97 5.7 % of local taxes maintained by subjects of the Federation, 1996 5.8 Federal transfers as % of total income in twelve selected regions, 1994-96 5.9 Typology of regions of Russia according to the share of federal budget transfers as a % of total budget income, 1999 5.10 Variations in the financial status of subjects of the Russian Federation with different constitutional status, 1996 5.11 The portion of taxes credited to the budgets of 'privileged republics' in 1992-98 as a % of total taxes collected in each republic's territory 5.12 Economic status of the seven federal districts 6.1 Party representation in regional assemblies 6.2 Number of seats won by candidates of national parties and number of assemblies in which parties have seats, January 1998 6.3 Comparisons of registered candidates with winners, 1995-97 6.4 Variations in the level of governors' support of parties, 1999 6.5 Regional distribution of parties in the December 1999 Duma elections 7.1 Turovskii's classification of regional legislatures, 1997 9.1 Comparative prima facie evidence of electoral competitiveness and non-competitiveness in elections for the chief executive in the eighty-nine subjects of the Russian Federation Boxes 1.1 Federal structure of the Russian Federation 4.1 The interregional associations 6.1 Political affiliation of Russian governors 7.1 Variations in the powers of legislative and executive bodies of power as stipulated in regional and republican charters and constitutions 8.1 The seven federal districts Appendices

Ars Artium, 2014

The constitutions are the manifestations of the political societies. By observing constitution, one can understand the political and sociological milieu of any society and its evolution. Abrogation of one constitution and the promulgation of other invariably mean that the political balance of the social order has changed; therefore there is a need for a new constitution. An emerging reformist Boris Yeltsin was elected as the chairman of the Russian Congress of People's Deputies (CPD) in 1990. The CPD announced 'Declaration of Sovereignty' of the Russian Socialist Federated Soviet Republic (RSFSR) and set up a Constitutional Commission to prepare a constitutional document. The Constitutional Commission presented the fifth version of the draft constitution to the parliament in May 1993 incorporating suggestions made by the deputies. This proposal was not acceptable to Yeltsin. He composed a Constitutional Assembly (Constitutional Conference) choosen by himself. The parliament did not recognize it as it was a body arbitrarily appointed by the president. The president-parliament struggle was at the climax. The Russian constitution of 1993 was introduced in the backdrop of the presidentparliament struggle. In this quest of power, the president won and so a strong presidency became the key feature of the constitution. The president has been given enormous power. The constitution adopted on 12 December 1993 finally gave legal status to Russia's federal system. The Russian Federation has 89 subjects including the Republics, Territories, Regions, Federal Cities, Autonomous Regions and Autonomous Areas which do not have equal rights. The Constitution of Russian Federation, article 65.1 has listed the names of the subjects of the federation. Part 1 of the Article 1 of the Russian Constitution names the state as "Russian Federation". The distribution of powers between the federation and its subjects is set out in Articles 71-73. The birth of the new constitution in Russia was long and painful process. Despite all the hue and cry over the new constitution, history shows, there is no such thing as a constitution that will please everyone. Concession must be made provided that the main constitutional goal of human rights and freedom are guaranteed. Fortunately, the new Russian constitution of 1993 fully incorporates this goal on human and civil rights.