The restructuring of local government in Russia
- 1 October 1992
- journal article
- policy learning
- Published by Taylor & Francis in Public Money and Management
- Vol. 12 (4) , 19-24
- https://doi.org/10.1080/09540969209387731
Abstract
There are two common misconceptions about Russian local government since 1990. One is to see in its democratic experiment a ‘tabula rasa’ into which principles and practices distilled from the experience of other countries can be introduced at will. The other is that the old Soviet order is still in place, and that the accumulated weight of tradition will prevent reform. The first underestimates the role of national traditions in shaping change, the second simplifies it by seeing national traditions as immutable and unchanging. This article places the changes in Russian local government, notably the adoption of elected strong mayors’ and appointed ‘heads of administration’, in the context of the debate over universal models and national traditions.Keywords
This publication has 2 references indexed in Scilit:
- Soviet provincial politics in an era of transition and revolution, 1989–91Soviet Studies, 1992
- Boris El'tsin, democratic Russia and the campaign for the Russian presidencySoviet Studies, 1992