How effective is Russion Federalism?

Nowadays federalism is a widely used concept for organising states around the world. Although, genuinely federal systems can only be found in a minority of states, one can observe a trend towards regionalism and local self-government in many countries. A main principle of the EU, for example, is to give the regions within its member states as much power as possible - this means government at the lowest possible level. Even traditionally unitary states like Britain now allows regional parliaments. The state as a unitary entity, although not everywhere, seems to have lost its ability to unite a country. People believe that regional problems are best dealt with at a regional level rather than from a central government.

States use federalism in very different ways, no two systems are identical and only very few could be described as truly federal according to the classic definition. Rather do states individualise the concept of federalism for their special needs. However, some key features of federalism can be identified. The main difference between a unitary and a federal system is the existence of two distinct levels of government in federalism - one at the federal level and one at the regional level.

Especially states with a very large territory seem to be prone to be organised in a federal way. ¹ Here, federalism is a guarantor of stability and integration, as a large territory usually includes many different ethnic groups and regions which claim a certain amount of independence within the state. Russia would thus perfectly fit into this pattern and one could think that federalism has a long tradition. However, the history is different: the Russian Empire under the Tsars was organised centrally and although the USSR claimed to be federal, regional politics was determined by Moscow.

The fall of communism was used by many Soviet republics to gain independence. Those who stayed in the Russian Federation were given at least cultural independence, but linked to loyalty to Russia. Yeltsin’s 1993 Constitution was the result of long struggles and bargaining about the degree of autonomy for the republics. Finally, the word ‘autonomy’ was not used to describe their status but the republics were allowed to have their own constitution, national flag and president. This was then probably the highest degree of sovereignty, the republics have had for the last 100 years.

Before engaging into a discussion on the effectiveness of Russian Federalism, this paper will firstly define Federalism in general and establish what is so special about the Russian

¹ Examples are the USA, Canada, India, Australia, etc.

federalism. Secondly, the problems with the present system shall be mentioned and recent attempts by President Putin to solve these problems shall be looked at. Federalism, like many concepts in the Social Sciences, cannot easily be defined. Clearly, there are certain criteria that make a federal state distinct from a unitary one, but a single definition

is not possible. However, looking at countries where federalism has been practised for a long time might clear some uncertainties about the concept. As already mentioned, a key feature for federalist states is to have two levels of legislature. These two levels are accompanied by two distinctly operating levels of government. Regions, provinces, Länder or republics in order to benefit from the advantages a large state brings, share sovereignty with the federal government and in return can rule, within limits,

autonomously. In other words: a separation of power on the territorial level is added to the existing three levels. Usually, federalism is also associated with pluralism. It is certainly the case that pluralistic societies tend to be federal, but federalism does not necessarily promote pluralism. The society has to be pluralistic already for federalism to work. Federalism can thus be a means to promote integration of a pluralistic society, but it can definitely not change a fragmented

society into a pluralistic one or promote tolerance. Federalism can be described as a form of organising a state, so that everybody can be satisfied (or nobody permanently disadvantaged) by nicely combining national and regional/territorial interests within a complex web of

checks and balances between general, or national, or federal government on the one hand, and a multiplicity of regional governments on the other. ² The emphasis must be seen on the ‘complex web of checks and balances’. The whole idea of federalism seems to be to introduce another check on a national government. It is therefore

essential for federal states to have a bicameral system of legislation: the second chamber must represent, at least in one form or another, the regions.

federalism has a long tradition there and even when Germany was not a state at all, it was still

Germany seems to be a very good example to illustrate federalism and its use in practise. As,

² Iain McLean (ed.): Oxford Concise Dictionary of Politics, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1996, vs.

federal ³ . Traditionally, in Germany the Länder are very active and involved in policy making. In the defeated Germany after the 2 ^nd World War, a federal structure was introduced in order to make it impossible for future governments to become too powerful. However, federalism cannot work if it simply imposed, federal structures are not built up in a day. Only the strong regional traditions in Germany and the existence of a political culture in favour of federalism made it work.

“Russia, as the world’s newest multiethnical federation, is unique among federations in having been born out of the collapse of a federation, the Soviet Union.” ⁴ It seems to be surprising that out of the collapse of a federation emerged a new federation, yet the Soviet federalism was not really federalism and so the comparison is inappropriate. Federalism exists theoretically for a long time in Russia, but in fact people know federalism only as a construct without meaning. A political culture like in Germany did never develop. Nevertheless, Russia seems to be special in many ways, but what exactly constitutes the Russian federalism? The present day Russian federalism has to be seen in the context of Russia’s recent history. Russia cannot look back to a tradition of federalism like Germany can. Although the Soviet Union was formally organised in a federal way, the republics did not have any sovereignty in reality. In fact, leaders of the republics where appointed by Moscow and served loyally - checks and balances did not exist and it can be said that “for many years even those who counted it [the USSR] among the formally federal systems understood full well that Soviet federalism was almost without meaning, that it was a device to maintain a multinational empire under totalitarian Communist rule.” ⁵ The federalism of the Soviet Union was designed by Lenin and meant to integrate the numerous regions and republics into the communist Soviet Union. Under Stalin the federal structure was more and more used to exert pressure on the republics and control them. Under Stalin, Russia was, yet theoretically still an ethno-federal country, centralised and the republics lost all freedoms they had until then.

³ Here I refer to the fragmented Germany until 1848, when there was no single German state but hundreds of small states. At that time the basis was laid for the federal structure of Germany today.

⁴ Graham Smith (ed.): Federalism: The Multiethnic Challenge, Longman, London, 1995, p.157

⁵ Alastair McAuley: Soviet Federalism Nationalism and Economic Decentralisation, Leicester University Press, Leicester, 1991, p.7