Please join the Harriman Institute for a lecture by Irina Busygina, Visiting Scholar the Harriman Institute, Moderated by Elise Giuliano.
The capacity of the Russian leadership to the large-scale war, will largely depend on the stability of center-regional relations. If Moscow begins to lose political and economic control over the regions, its ability to continue the war will be limited – far more than current or new Western sanctions might. So far, Russia demonstrates significant degree of resilience regarding center-regional relations. The current Russian authoritarian “federalism” relations serves the interest of Moscow and, no less important, regional governors. The war did create incentives for the model of the center-regional relations to be reformed by the Center or challenged by the regions. Instead, the regional governors actively implement “patriotic agenda”. In the regime of Putin’s personalized rule the governors heavily rely on Putin for their political survival. Lacking their own legitimacy, governors tend to follow Moscow’s directives, thus maintaining the stability of the existing regime. Perhaps most significantly, without competitive elections, incumbent governors have little incentive to advocate for greater autonomy or prioritize their regions’ interests over those of the central government.
