Politics of Local Government in Russia

Alfred B. Evans Jr, is professor of political science at California State University, Fresno. Vladimir Gel'man is associate professor, faculty of political sciences and sociology, European University at St. Petersburg.

The essays in this volume start with the understanding that the project of post-Soviet municipal reform in Russia has failed. There is a sharp contrast between the stated principles of local autonomy and democracy and the realities of impoverished municipalities with ruling 'political machines' in Russia. The individual papers explore two dimensions of this failure. Three essays focus on the possibility of building local politics based on the past experience of the tsarist local government reforms of thelate 19th century. Seven essays focus on various aspects of local government in contemporary Russia: the role of the central and regional governments in limiting the development of local autonomy and democratization; local budget crises caused by transferof responsibilities from higher levels of government and enterprises, without an appropriate tax base; the unique challenges in local government in 'company towns;' the special case of Moscow. A concluding chapter describes Vladimir Putin's proposed reforms of local government and assesses their potential impact, concluding that the degree of independence of local governments will decrease as the national executive leadership consolidates its control over the hierarchy of administration. Recommended. Upp

• Part 1 Part I: IntroductionChapter 2 The Politics of Local Government in Russia: A Framework for AnalysisPart 3 Part II: Historical RootsChapter 4 The Zemstvo ReconsideredChapter 5 Ministerial Conflict and the Politics of Zemstvo Reform, 1864-1905Chapter 6 Contemporary Russian Scholars' Changing Views on Local Government in Late Tsarist RussiaPart 7 Part III: Local Government and Post-Soviet PoliticsChapter 8 Federal Politics Toward Local Government in Russia: The Process of Institution-BuildingChapter 9 Institution Building of Local Self-Government in Russia: Between Legal Design and Power PoliticsChapter 10 Local Budgets and Intergovernmental Finance in the Russian FederationPart 11 Part IV: Local Government in Russia's RegionsChapter 12 Governors vs. Mayors: The Regional Dimension of Russian Local GovernmentChapter 13 Regional Politics and Municipal Building: The Reshuffling of Local Chief Administrators in Russia, 1990-1996Chapter 14 The Moscow Political Regime: The Emergence of a New Urban Political Machine?Chapter 15 Energy Development and Local Government in Western SiberiaPart 16 Part V: ConclusionChapter 17 Toward a New Politics of Local Government in Russia