Russian Federalism Analysis

Russian Federalism - a unique combination of constitutional , political and socio-economic asymmetry- has been governed by extra-legal, political and economic relations rather than constitutionalism and the rule of law . The Russian state that rose out of the ruins of the Soviet Union in January 1992, characterized a highly authoritative political culture accompanied by a weak and an immature civil society. Post communist elites have maneuvered federalism essentially as a protective cloak for the advancement of their own narrow political and economic interests and as a bulwark to carve out electoral dictatorships. Under the presidency of Putin, the principles of federalism and democracy have come under attack and electoral authoritarianism

Article 1, of this first post communist constitution proclaimed that Russia was “a democratic federative rule of law state with a republican form of government.1.” However, there are now major concerns about the current regime’s commitment to the principles of federalism. The problems of Federalization in Russia can be traced back to country's long history of authoritarian rule and the absence of a federal and democratic tradition. The 1993 constitution provided Russia with all the necessary elements of a Federation. However, as Elazar stresses, “True federal systems manifest their federalism in culture as well as constitutional and structural ways” and “the viability of federal systems is directly related to the degree to which federalism has been internalized culturally within a particular civil society.2.” Thus, although Russia inherited a federal structure, it did not inherit a federal

The dual nature of Russian federalism, which guarantees different constitutional rights and powers to different subjects of the federation, has shaped major tensions and divisions between federal subjects. Although the Russian constitution declares that all subjects are constitutionally equal (Article 5) 3., in fact the twenty-one ethnic republics have been granted far greater powers than the other subjects of the federation.

Political Asymmetry

Constitutional asymmetry further leads to political asymmetry. For example, rich “donor subjects” (regions that pay more taxes to the federal budget than they receive back) have been more successful in carving out higher levels of political autonomy than the impoverished “recipient regions,” which depend on federal transfers from the center for their economic survival. Constitutional and political asymmetry has resulted into highly diverse political regimes in regions during the Yeltsin era, ranging from partial democracies at one end of the political spectrum to electoral dictatorships at the other end