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Federalism in Russia 1 Institute of History, Tatarstan Academy of Sciences Kazan Institute of Federalism Federalism in Russia Edited by Dr. Rafael Khakimov Published with financial support from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation within the project Prospects of Federalism in Russia: Theoretical and Practical Aspects. Kazan - 2001 2 Federalism in Russia ÓÄÊ 323/324(470) ÁÁÊ 67.400(2Ðîñ) Federalism in Russia. Edited by Dr. Rafael Khakimov Kazan, 2002. English Translation Edited by Donald J. and Natalia Dolgova Jacobsen. This book is the result of long-term discussions, which took place at international seminars and conferences in Kazan in the framework of the project «Perspectives of Federalism in Russia: Theoretical and Practical Aspects». Authors of the book are leading Moscow specialists as well as scholars from regions and foreign experts for Russian studies. The book is recommended for specialists, lecturers, students and general public interested in the state structure of Russia. © John D. and Catherine T. MacArthurs Foundation The Project «Perspectives of Federalism in Russia: Theoretical and Practical Aspects», 2002 ISbN 5-93139-113-4 Federalism in Russia 3 C O N T E N T Foreword 7 Chapter I. Political and Legal Foundations of Russias Federal System Pyotr Fedosov Theoretical Aspects of Federation in Russia 12 Sergey Shakhray The Problem of the Modern Development of Russian Federalism 20 Valery Tishkov The Pros and Cons of Ethnic Federalism in Russia 27 Shigeki Hakamada Political Reform and the Possibility of Federalism in Russia 44 Alexander blankenagel Russia - a Multilevel Federation 49 Milena Gligitch-Zolotaryova Strengthening the Constitutional Bases of Russian Statehood: Political, Legal and Economic Aspects 57 Larisa Kapustina Evolution of relations between the center and the regions and scenarios for federal development in Russia 66 Dmitry badovsky The system of federal districts and the institute of PolPredy of the Russian Federation President: the present state and development problems 74 4 Federalism in Russia Aleksey Avtonomov The principle of subsidiarity and Russian federalism 81 Chapter II. Status of Russian Federation Subjects Shakir Yagudin Peculiarities of Republican Status in the Russian Federation 88 Alexander Sergunin The Regional Factor in Russian Foreign Policy: Legal Aspects 93 Enver Kisriyev Resistance of Dagestans Political Institutions System to the Creation of a Unified Legal Environment in Russia 111 Marat Galeyev The agreement of Russian Federation and Republic Tatarstan about mutual delegating of authorities 132 Chapter III. Factors of Federalization of Russia §1. Ethnic and confessional factor of federalization Mikhail Guboglo Language, Bilingualism and Ethnic Mobilization 138 Kamil Aliyev Russian Federalism through Ethno-Social and Regional Approach 153 §2. Socioeconomic factor of federalization Leonid Vardomsky Regional Processes in the Context of Russias Federalization 163 Federalism in Russia 5 Gouzel Singatullina Diversity of regions social and economic development and problems of budgetary federalism 174 Leonid Vardomsky, Yelena Skatershchikova Peculiarities of External Economic Ties of Russian Federal Regions within the Context of Their Social and Economic Development 180 §3. Political Forces in Russia and Prospects of Federalization Vasily Filippov Forthcoming Reforms of Russian Federalism: Will They Face the Opposition in Parliament? 190 Damir Iskhakov Tatar community (diaspora) and its role in federalization of Russia 204 Chapter IV. On the theory of asymmetric federalism Rafael Khakimov On the bases of asymmetry of Russian Federation 212 Donna bahry Rethinking Asymmetrical Federalism 219 Gail W. Lapidus Asymmetrical Federalism and Russian State-Building 231 Leokadiya Drobizheva Problems of asymmetric federation as viewed by elite and the masses 242 Gulsum Pugacheva Asymmetry of Russian Federation: Political - legal aspect 278 6 Federalism in Russia Federalism in Russia 7 Foreword Since 1990, political debate in Russia has focused on questions of fed- eralism and the distribution of power between governmental units. Central aspects of these questions have included whether Russia should have a uni- tary or federative system; whether ethnically homogeneous regions such as Tatarstan and Chechnya should have special status; whether oblasts and ter- ritories will be considered as equal federal subjects; prospects of regional governmental and administrative reform; powers of the central government; the role of ethnic groups in the countrys political system; budgetary feder- alism; and many other issues. In addition, problems have also been engen- dered by the central governments attempts to examine the constitutional and legal status of the national republics and autonomous districts and to unilaterally revise agreements which have been concluded since 1994 be- tween the central government and constituent parts of the Federation. Justifying his new round of reforms at the time he launched them, Rus- sian President Vladimir Putin explained that economic reform in Russia had been so far inefficient because the question of the structure of the Russian state had not yet been solved; because of Russias political instability; and because of discrepancies between regional and federal laws. Thus, President Putin proclaimed that the main objective of the new stage of reforms must be to strengthen the vertical nature of state power. However, in his program statements, Putin also speaks about continuing the processes of democrati- zation and creation of civil society and about adherence to the principles of federalism. It is uncertain, though, whether these goals will be implemented. Departures from the principles of federalism include changes in the method of determining the membership of the Federation Council; the delegation of power to deal with regional governments, to the point of dismissing their governors and disbanding representative institutions, to the President; and the centralization of budget authority. President Putins recent efforts to strengthen the vertical nature of power have thus aggravated relations be- tween the central government and the regions, making the prospects of fed- eralism in Russia uncertain. 8 Federalism in Russia In his annual Address to the Russian Federal Assembly, however, Pres- ident Putin strongly emphasized federalism, noting the principle that: A really strong state means, among other things, a strong Federation. He bor- rowed heavily from the concept of distribution of authority between differ- ent levels of government articulated by Mintimer Shaymiyevs working group of the State Council of the Russian Federation. In practice, nevertheless, implementing reform of the state structure has been controversial. Thus, after a decade of reform - as has been the case since the beginning - the prospects for the development of the Russian state are still unclear. It is impossible to exclude any scenario. The country could become a confedera- tion and eventually break up; attempts could be made to restore the empire; or the process of federalization could be continued. There are rationales and political forces that could result in the realization of any of these possibili- ties in Russia; however, the likelihood of each occurring is far from equal. So far, in spite of the centralizing tendencies mentioned above, the central government has emphasized its fidelity to the concept of federalism. How- ever, it is far from certain that the concept will finally be implemented in practice. In 1991, the USSR collapsed because it was unable to resolve the prob- lem of state structures. Today, Russia is facing a similar dilemma. Either it will solve this problem and survive as a civilized state, or a similar fate is in store. At the same time, a return to a unitary structure would be comparable in its consequences to self-destruction. No better is a model of federalism which equalizes the status of the constituent parts of the Federation. Thus, the most preferable model for Russia might be a type of asymmetric federal- ism which takes the countrys special features into account. In Russias special situation, such notions as democratization and the implementation of a federal system are inextricably intertwined. Thus, any effort to support the implementation of a federal system would simultaneously support the principles of democracy in the structure of the Russian state. The lack of a strategy for the federalization of Russia and attempts to resolve problems that arise in the process of reforming Russian statehood by trial and error will most probably result in new conflicts between the central government and the regions. Russias future stability will depend directly on positive, well-regulated relations between the regions and the central gov- ernment which guarantee the rights of all of Russias nationalities as well as Federalism in Russia 9 on continued efforts aimed at the democratization of the state and the suc- cessful implementation of the principles of federalism. Russias peculiarities make it impossible to draw any direct parallels with any other federal system in the world. US, Swiss or German models could not be fully transplanted to Russia. The countrys historical and polit- ical traditions demand that Russia find its own model for an optimal state system. The special aspects of the Russian situation which must be taken into account when deciding on a federal structure include, first of all, the great vastness of Russias territory; the economic,