Fédéralisme et gouvernement régional en Russie
In: Politique étrangère: revue trimestrielle publiée par l'Institut Français des Relations Internationales, Band 61, Heft 4, S. 803-812
ISSN: 1958-8992
Federalism and Regional Government in Russia, by Jean-Robert Raviot
As a fedération, Russia must have a policy with regard to the heterogeneous territories of which it is composed. The legacy of the USSR is problematic: it has left Russia with administrative entities of an unequal status. Jean-Robert Raviot analyses this asymetry which characterizes Russia's federal organization. The republics and the regions enjoy varying degrees of autonomy, are variably endowed with diverse natural resources and hence are inequally wealthy, and above ail exhibit different levels of federal identity and integration. "Each case is special" and the present central government, since the war in Chechnya, has adopted a cautious policy of "case-by-case federalism". The dialogue between central government and its peripheries, far from being over, is conducted by executive powers embodied more often than not by the presidents of the republics or the chiefs of the regions. Tatarstan is a case in point, its president having full powers over his fief. The recent gubernatorial election makes relations more complicated. Jean-Robert Raviot questions the future of a federal system where the rules of the game are far from clear.