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Free keywords:
local self-government, Russia, "vertical of power", centralization
Abstract:
This chapter examines the evolution and development of local self-goverance in Russia since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Local self-government emerged in Russia, as a separate level of power, at the beginning of the 1990s. However, it has never been completely autonomous and self-sufficient. The strength and sustainability of local governments were not among the priorities of key Russian political actors. While certain reforms that strengthen capacity of the state were evident after Putin’s first term in office, the reforms gradually weakened, and local governments lost their autonomy. This occurred as a result of the increased loss of direct mayoral elections and increased oversight and control by regional authorities. Using a sample of seventy-nine (79) Russian municipalities, the authors found the remoteness of the municipality from Moscow was correlated to more local autonomy. Local government reforms included the introduction of City Managers. The authors contend that in the Russian context the role of city manager was motivated by a need to extend the reach of federal government; and did not result in improved efficiency, transparency, and professionalism. Traditionally elected municipal representatives select a city manager who is hired to run the executive branch. This morphed into a process controlled by the regional and federal government, which also holds the power to dissolve local municipalities if the results are not inline with the desires of federally appointed officials. City managers then can be used as an indicator of a municipalities inclusion in the “vertical of power” federal support structure.
