Authors of report on federalism point to problems in relations between Moscow and Caucasus regions

The Russian authorities had a chance to build relations with the regions on the principle of "strong centre means strong regions"; however, the opportunity was missed, claimed the report presented at the International "Memorial". According to authors of the report, the federal relations in Russia have degraded.

On July 16, in Moscow, the press centre of the International "Memorial" hosted the presentation of the analytical report "Decadent Federalism: Tatarstan and Dagestan in the Context of Continuing Centralization". The report was presented by one of its authors, Ekaterina Sokiryanskaya, the director at the Conflict Analysis and Prevention Centre, reported the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent, who attended the presentation.

According to the authors of the report, the Russian authorities have missed the opportunity to build balanced federative relations.

"When Vladimir Putin came to power and the centre began to get strengthened rapidly, Russia had a chance to build balanced federal relations on the principle of 'strong centre means strong regions.' However, the opportunity was missed. Instead of developing the federation, the new leaders of the country gradually deprived the regions of their former sovereignty and formed a super-centralized system of governance," the report says.

"The federalism has been replaced by patron-client relations. There is frustration on the part of elites dissatisfied with the leveling of the federalism. However, the federalism is still 'sewn' into the laws of the Russian Federation, and this fact leaves hope that its potential can still be revived," noted Ekaterina Sokiryanskaya at the presentation.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on July 17, 2019 at 05:50 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.