Lecture XII: PUTINS REFORMS

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Lecture XII PUTINS REFORMS

• In the framework of the course Crucial Issues of
  Russian Political History from the early XXth
  century up the present time
• Sergey Verigin, Ass. Prof.
• Petrozavodsk State University

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Contents list

• I. Creation of new Federal Districts
• II. New principles of formation of the Federal
  Council of RF Federal Assembly
• III. Third Part of Vladimir Putins Reform
  establishment of State Council

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Situation in Russia in the beginning of Putin's
presidency. Federal reform

• March 2000 elections of President of Russia
• After elections President of Russia V.V.Putin was
  confronted by numerous political, economic and
  social problems inherited from his predecessor,
  Boris N.Yeltsin.
• First problem from the list was the one of
  solidifying federal relations in Russia,
  strengthening the vertical line of political
  power.
• An eloquent fact more than 20 thousand law acts
  in the units of Russian Federation passed in
  1990s did not correspond to Russian Constitution
  and Russian federal legislation.

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Vladimir Putin (1952)
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Situation in Russia in the beginning of Putin's
presidency. Federal reform

• May, 13, 2000 - President Putin's decree 849
  formed 7 Federal Districts
• Central Federal District - Moscow
  (plenipotentiary - general Georgi Poltavchenko).
• North-west District - St.Petersburg
  (plenipotentiary - general KGB Victor
  Cherkesov).
• Northern Caucasus Federal District -
  Rosrov-on-Don (plenipotentiary - general Victor
  Kazantsev).
• Privolzski Federal District - Nizhni Novgorod
  (plenipotentiary - Sergei Kirienko).
• Ural Federal District - Ekaterinburg
  (plenipotentiary general Petr Latyshev).
• Siberia Federal District - Novosibirsk (General
  Leonid Drachevski).
• Far East Federal District - Khabarovsk (General
  Konstantin Pulikovski).
• Its easy to notices that six of the
  plenipotentiaries were generals.

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Federal Districts of the Russian Federation
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Analysis of Putin's decree

• Federal executive power tends to centralize the
  country and strengthen its influence in the
  province, in all units of the Russian Federation
  through the system of President's
  plenipotentiaries.
• Every plenipotentiary was appointed to his post
  by the president Putin and was responsible only
  to him.

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Analysis of Putin's decree

• Plenipotentiaries' tasks
• 1. To control the fulfillment of federal bodies'
  decisions in their Federal districts
• 2. To make regular reports for the president on
  the current situation in their districts
• 3. To mediate between Federal structures and
  local authorities.
• 4. To control the local implementation of
  federal-level decisions.
• 5. To recommend which measures on local issued be
  implemented by the President.

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Supportes and Opponents of Putins reform

• Suppoters
• Russia requires federal coordination and
  monitoring at the regional level. Before Putins
  reforms no federal bodies had existed in the
  regions to coordinate activities of the local
  branches of various federal ministries and
  agencies.
• It is impossible to coordinate these activities
  at the central-government level only.
  Coordination of federal bodies in the units of
  Russian Federation must be conducted at the
  regional-branch level as well. The lack of
  official management of federal property at the
  local level represents a challenging problem for
  Russia.
• One of the serious problems of Russia is the
  inconsistency between federal laws and local
  legislation. In many cases this results from a
  lack of coordination between federal center and
  regions when drafting regional laws.
• Every year (1991-2000) federal centre sends to
  the units of RF budget money (so called
  transferred) to cover certain expenses (for
  example, teachers salaries and so on), but
  government of the units of RF often use these
  fund for some different aims. There was no
  federal bode in regions which could insure proper
  use of federal funding.

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Supportes and Opponents of Putins reform

• Opponents
• Putins reforms would weaken the federal
  character of Russia, centralizing power in the
  hands of the President and his appointees.
• Majority of Presidential Representatives
  served in the army or in the other military
  forces and they would treat local leaders as
  subordinates.
• Many experts suppose that the boundaries of the
  Federal districts are not thought out. For
  instance, Bashkiria has declared its wish to
  enter the Ural Federal District.
• The grid of the newly-established Federal
  districts remains the grid of the military
  districts.

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Contradictions and drawbacks of Putin's reform

• The administration of President gave following
  explanation
• 1. President Putin is a person from state
  security services (he worked in KGB and FSB, in
  the latter in the service of internal
  investigations), so he feels a great affection
  for the forms of organizations like those in the
  armed forces.
• 2. Military structures, as many suppose, are
  capable of preventing disintegration of the
  Russian Federation.
• 3. We have already got administrative central
  infrastructure in the existing military
  districts communications, transportation and so
  on.
• The conventional regional capitals have become
  the centers of the districts (Moscow,
  St-Petersburg, etc). Characteristically that
  capitals of national republics (like Kazan, Ufa)
  have not become Federal centers.

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Contradictions and drawbacks of Putin's reform

• Important question is the territory of federal
  districts. One federal district comprise the huge
  territory of Siberia, the whole Far East is
  absorbed by another federal district, and the
  Ural regions are included into a third federal
  district.
• So, in the European part of Russia (where the
  capital of located) there are four federal
  districts, while the remaining three federal
  districts cover more than two thirds of Russian
  territory located beyond the Ural mountains.

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Contradictions and drawbacks of Putin's reform

• The next issue is capitals of federal districts.
• The conventional regional capitals have become
  the centers of the districts (Moscow,
  St-Petersburg, Ekaterinburg, Nizhni Novgorod,
  Rostov-upon-Don, Novosibirsk, Khabarovsk).
  Characteristically that capitals of national
  republics (like Kazan, Ufa) have not become
  Federal centers.
• The regions where the system of President's
  plenipotentiaries is based receive additional
  financing, they can defend their interests on
  federal level much more successfully.

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Does Putin's decree contradict the Constitution
of Russian Federation?

• Some representatives of political elite consider
  the Decree an unconstitutional act. They refer to
  the article in Constitution where is written
  "Alteration of the boundaries inside the Russian
  Federation cannot be a prerogative of central
  executive power".
• As a result of the Decree's realization seven new
  President's plenipotentiaries will have
  considerably more power than the heads of Russia'
  89 units.
• First after publication of the Decree governors
  did not put up resistance to Putin and supported
  his decision (even Tatarstan President
  M.Shaimiev, a very popular politician in his
  republic).
• Critics of the presidential Decree notice also
  that the plenipotentiaries are nominated, but the
  population elects the heads of the federal units.

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Defense of the Putin's decree

• Representatives of the President administration,
  who are the initiators of the reform, state that
  the Decree of new administrative division is only
  a beginning of a new administrative reform.
• They declare "The main thing is to diminish
  administrative load on the Federal Center and
  budget, to pass some power of the Center to the
  seven created Federal Districts.

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Plenipotentiaries and their tasks

• Every plenipotentiary has his specific
  challenges
• Plenipotentiary of the Privolzhski Federal
  District (S.Kirienko, former Prime Minister
  during Yeltsin'd presidency) has been confronted
  by the resistance of influential politicians of
  national regions M.Shamiev (Tatarstan President)
  and M.Rakhimov (Bashkirstan President) and by
  opposition of large monopolies located in the
  district GAZ, KamAZ, AutoVAZ (all three are
  automobile producers).
• Plenipotentiary of the Central Federal District
  G.Poltavchenko has been confronted by prominent
  politicians such as mayor of Moscow Y.Luzhkov,
  the Chairman of the Federation Council and
  governor of Oryol Province E.Stroev, power local
  manufacturers owning huge Novolipetski and
  Lebedinki factories.
• The Ural Plenipotentiary has already come into
  conflict with the governor of Sverdlovsk
  province, prominent politician E.Rossel. Rossel
  has accused the plenipotentiary (Petr Latyshev)
  that he interfered in the governor's competence,
  nominates his representatives to the posts in the
  region.
• Plenipotentiary of the Southern (Northern
  Caucasus) Federal District General Kazantsev who
  commanded the armed forces in Chechnya, has been
  challanged by serious problems of Northern
  Caucasus Chechnya war was still waged, conflicts
  in Ingushetia, Karachaevo-Cherkessia and other
  republics are not yet settled.
• All of these problem require active
  measures to be taken by President's
  plenipotentiaries in the seven Federal Districts.
  At the same time these measures must not violate
  the law, promote order in the districts and
  solidify.

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II. New principles of formation of the Federation
Council of the Russian Federation Federal
AssemblyPrincipal differences of old and new
principles

• The second part of Putin's reforms of the Russian
  political system -
• the Decree of the President of RF putting
  new regulations for forming the upper chamber of
  Russian parliament (Federal Assembly) - the
  Federation Council. Russian Parliament consists
  of two chambers Council of Federation and State
  Duma. Earlier Council of Federation automatically
  included all heads of Federation units (89) - the
  Heads and Presidents of republics, governors,
  etc.
• Now the Federation Council is formed in a
  different way representatives of executive and
  legislative powers are proposed by local
  executive heads (governors) and approved by local
  parliaments. The members of the Federation
  Council permanently work in Moscow.

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Pros and Countras

• Advocates of this reform state that it is
  necessary. Participation of local highest
  executive local authorities in the Federation
  Council (parliament, i.e. legislative power) was
  a nonsence. The same situation does not exist in
  any country where the principle of the power
  division into three branches is valid. Critics of
  the reform (first of all, the heads of Federation
  units) state the reverse exclusion local
  governors from the Parliament weakens their
  power, and this leads to a weaker Russia.
• What a governor can and must do can't be done by
  anyone else. M.Shaimiev, President of Republic of
  Tatarstan, said "Political fate of the renovated
  Federation Council (without governors) is
  obscure. It will become useless while the
  importance of the State Council (new body which
  gathers governors) will increase. In future State
  Council will turn into a legislative body".

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III. Third part of Putin's reform establishment
of State CouncilThe reasons of this part of
Putin's reforms

• Most experts think that this reform is a
  President's concession to governors. The
  governors who are now under command of
  President's plenipotentiaries and who were devoid
  of legislative power in Parliament were given the
  State Council as a compensation. It is a state
  body which include all heads of 89 Federation
  units (with Chechnya). It has a core - Presidium
  - including 7 governors (1 from every Federal
  District). The Head of the Council, according to
  the Decree, is president himself. State Council
  will assemble once in three months and Presidium
  - each month.
• But still President, regarding governors'
  dissatisfaction with his reforms, made one more
  concession RF legislation introduced by Yeltsin
  forbid governors take their position more than
  twice. But many of them (for example, popular
  President of Tatarstan Shaimiev) want to run for
  the post for the 3rd time, and Putin now gives
  them such opportunity.

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The reasons of this part of Putin's reforms

• The persons of President administration explained
  that two periods of the governors and other
  chiefs of the units of Russian Federation office
  began from the new Russian Constitution, when it
  is adopted, from 1993, but not from the beginning
  of the governors work.
• So Shaimiev was reelected to the office of
  President of Tatarstan for a third term. And
  another governors and heads of he republic of RF
  received a chance to participate in new election
  and reelect to governors' office for a third
  term.
• Besides, in his statements Putin sometimes says
  that State Council can be made into a legislative
  body in a while.

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Governors' opposition to Putin's reforms

• Gradually Putin's opponents are recovering from
  the shock aroused by reforms.
• President of Tatarstan Shaimiev stated "There
  are contradictions if legislations of RF and
  Tatarstan. But we can eliminate them in a short
  period. Besides, Tatarstan Constitution was
  adopted earlier than that of RF. We have advanced
  laws which RF Constitution hasn't (for instance,
  on purchase of land). Should we abolish it? And
  if there have been transactions hold on the basis
  of those law, what should we do now? Everyone's
  saying that republics have too much right, we
  should strengthen the "vertical of power".
• The process of reforms should be two-sided. It is
  necessary not only to change the Constitutions
  of the Republics (the units of the Russian
  Federation), but also to make alterations in the
  Constitution of the Russian federation.
• M.Shaimiev told about one fact. In Tatarstan
  there are two official languages Russian and
  Tatar. And candidate for the presidency in the
  republic must have a command of these two
  languages. Federal elections law considers it as
  violation of human rights. But if a president who
  doesn't know one of the two languages (it doesn't
  matter whether Russian or Tatar) is elected the
  rights of half of electors will be violated.

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Governors' opposition to Putin's reforms

• The further Putin's reform affecting the
  interests of governors goes the clearer
  opposition to the reforming process is seen.
• In October 2000 after the congress of regional
  union "Large Ural" two of its members,
  influential heads of Federation units president
  of Bashkiria Rakhimov and governor of Sverdlovsk
  province Rossel hold a conference where they
  criticized President's plenipotentiaries.
  Moreover, they made a statement that they were
  going to make an interpellation into the
  Constitutional Court of RF on the matter of the
  competence of President's decrees in the
  Constitution of RF.
• But 2001 after learning of this request, the
  Constitutional Court again announced that Putins
  Decrees were accepted according to Russian
  Constitution.
• In 2000 mid 2000s the reforms of President of
  Russia V.Putin were continuing.

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Putin's reforms

• Autumn 2007 President Putin declared about a new
  direction of his reforms for strengthening the
  vertical of executive power in Russia.
• He decided to appoint the governors and other
  heads of the units of Russian Federation instead
  of elections.
• It was a soft variant of reform president offers
  to local parliament own candidate for the post of
  governor. Local parliament has to elect or not
  elect this person. If not, president can offer
  this candidate again. If local parliament refused
  the candidate of President three times, Putin can
  dissolve a parliament. So after these decisions
  all governors and other heads of the units of
  Russian Federation depend from the President of
  Russia.
• During 2007-2008 all candidates of President of
  Russia were adopted of local parlaments
• Nowadays new President of Russia D.Medvedev,
  which was offered for this post by V.Putin, is
  continuing the reforms of his predecessor.

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Literature to the topic 12

• Wallich, Christine. Russia and the challenge of
  fiscal federalism. Washington, 1994.
• Sakwa, Richard Russian politics and Society.
  London and New York. 2000.