Institutionalization of intergovernmental relations in a federal state: Bilateral treaties under new centralism in Russia

Abstract

This article examines institutional dynamics of Russian federalism with the focus on the analysis of intergovernmental interaction practices. It argues that although the Russian federal system passed through serious centralized reforms in the last decade, the general mode of relations between the Center and regions has not changed drastically if it is to compare with the 1990s. Certain elements of the bilateral negotiation system still continue to function in the form of a backdoor individual dialogue between the federal and regional elites. Taking into account that the Center is striving to implement new technological principles in regional governance, it appears that one of the basic contradictions of Russian federalism lies in reproducing the two different types of intergovernmental interaction practices within one institutional frame.