TY - CHAP

T1 - Russian local self-government

T2 - The evolution towards its end

AU - Gushchina, Kristina

AU - Kononenko, Pavel

PY - 2017

Y1 - 2017

N2 - 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 with 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. The presence, or absence, of a city manager can be used as an indicator of a municipalities inclusion in the “vertical of power” federal support structure.

AB - 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 with 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. The presence, or absence, of a city manager can be used as an indicator of a municipalities inclusion in the “vertical of power” federal support structure.

KW - Centralization

KW - Local self-government

KW - Russia

KW - Vertical of power

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85022025200&partnerID=8YFLogxK

M3 - Chapter

SN - 9781536106381

SP - 235

EP - 258

BT - The Governance of Local Communities

A2 - Reilly, Thom

PB - Nova Science Publishers, Inc.

ER -