Between “Centre” and “Region”: Stagnation or Stability?

The regional political elite in Russia is one of the most important components of the stability of the political system. Due to the peculiarities of the federal structure of the Russian Federation also including the scale of the territory, regional political elite is one of the most important components of the political stability and economic development. There are two key aspects, which determine the order of formation of a regional political elite system on the one hand, and set the framework for its functioning on the other – first, the interbudgetary relations between regions and the federal center and the second, system of local elections. The paper analyzes specificity of municipal filter as a limitation of regional elections and the “donor-recipient” system as a main principle of interbudgetary relations. In 2004, direct elections of governors were abolished, which significantly affected the process of forming the political elite in the regions, and also changed the status of the governor in the political system. The governor was appointed directly by the president on the recommendation of the local parliaments of the subjects. Direct elections of governors were restored in 2012, but with significant amendments. Thus, municipal filter was installed, which is not without reason criticized in expert circles. Municipalities are completely dependent on regional budgets, which creates a field for manipulation. The results of the recent elections in a number of regions showed a critical level of people's trust in the ruling political elite, which was reflected in low turnout and high degree of absenteeism. Another mechanism of the Center's influence on regional elites is the system of redistribution of resources. Depending on how much the region sends to the federal center, and how much it gets back, the subjects are divided into "rich" and "poor", "donors" and "recipients". The division "donor-recipient" is rather arbitrary, and not all experts consider it to be correct. It should be noted that the decision on which of the regions should receive assistance in the form of financial support contains an element of chance, because the center maintains different relations with all actors (the effect of unpredictability and the right to change the rules of the game suddenly). Such system of redistribution has got several challenges. First, the debts of poor regions grow. Obviously, the weak regions alone cannot cope with the situation: the majority only continues to increase debts in order to fulfill social obligations. Second, artificial equalization of the welfare of the regions (from the donor to the recipient) provokes a conflict between the center and rich subjects. More and more often, the question is raised about the scope and principles of the allocation of financial resources. Today existing system of relations which developed between Centre and regional political elite creates “risk zones” from both a political and an economic point of view. Regional elite still remains rather limited in its actions.