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State versus society? Local government and the reconstruction of the Russian state

2006; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 32; Issue: 5 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/03003930600896277

1743-9388

A. E. Campbell,

China's Socioeconomic Reforms and Governance

Abstract This paper sets out to demonstrate that the evolution of Russian local government reflects the continuing debate between two traditions or theories of what local government should be: a centralising tradition which does not recognise the claims of either local autonomy or of political pluralism, and a romantic localism based on the society theory of local self-government, which imbues local self-government with an unrealistic mission and thereby (it may be argued) hinders the development of effective local institutions, and thus indirectly supports the consolidation of the state centralism it is opposed to. These two approaches to local government come into collision over the status of districts, which are not entirely state or local government institutions. Whereas the 1995 Law on Local Self-Government attempted to keep districts separate from local self-government, this did not prove practicable, and the Law of 2003, by reintroducing districts, may be seen as attempting to bridge the two opposing conception of the status of local government. Notes 1 Interview with B. Smirnov, Moscow, Congress of Municipalities, 15 May 2004. 2 Conversation with T.A. Nechaeva, Nizhny Novgorod, 17 July 2005. 3 Presentation by Alexei Lavrov, RF Ministry of Finance, Moscow, 22 June, 2005. 4 FZ 131, 2003 Ob obshchikh printsipakh organizatsii mestnogo samoupravleniya v Rossiskoi Federatsii (Moscow: Os' 89, 2005). Edition including all amendments up to 18 October 2005. 5 Interview with A. Shirokov, November 1998. 6 Kommissiya pri Prezidente Rossiskoi Federatsii po podgotovke predlozhenii o razgranichenii predmetov vedeniya i polnomochii mezhdu federalnymi organami gosudarsdvenoi vlasti, organami gosudarstvennoi vlasti subiectov Rossiskoi Federatsii i organami mestnogo camoupravleniya. ‘Kontseptsia razgranicheniya polnomochii mezhdu federalnymi organami gosudarsdvenoi vlasti, organami gosudarstvennoi vlasti subiectov Rossiskoi Federatsii i organami mestnogo camoupravleniya’, Moscow, 2002. 7 In November, 2005, Sobyanin was appointed head of the Presidential Administration. 8 Discussion with working group for the Law on General Principles of Local Self-Government in the Russian Federation, Moscow, June 2002. 9 FZ 131, 2003 Ob obshchikh printsipakh organizatsii mestnogo samoupravleniya v Rossiskoi Federatsii, Article 35.4.1. 10 FZ 131, 2003 Ob obshchikh printsipakh organizatsii mestnogo samoupravleniya v Rossiskoi Federatsii, Article 53.4. 11 FZ 131, 2003 Ob obshchikh printsipakh organizatsii mestnogo samoupravleniya v Rossiskoi Federatsii, Article 35.4.2. 12 FZ 131, 2003 Ob obshchikh printsipakh organizatsii mestnogo samoupravleniya v Rossiskoi Federatsii, Article 53.4. 13 Conversation with V.Ye. Pozgalev, Governor of Vologda Region, 29 October 2002. 14 Presentation by Kaluga Region at Ministry of Economic Development and Trade, 14 April 2005. 15 Interview with D.N. Kozak, 15 July 2002. 16 Interview with federal official, Moscow, July 2004. 17 Interview with Deputy Governor of Tambov Region, May 2005. 18 Interview with official in RF Ministry of Regional Development, November 2005. 19 Parlamentskaya gazeta, 1 March 2005. 20 Nezavisimaya Gazeta, 15 March 2005. 21 Comment by the federal office at round table at Ministry of Economy, Moscow, June, 2005.