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"Золотая середина" российского централизма, или еще раз об истоках федеративной природы России
Право. Журнал Высшей школы экономики. 2015. № 1. С. 4-21.
Lukyanova E. A.
The article is devoted to the anasisys of Russian center and its regions relation development dynamics. This development is cyclic: from general decentralization (up to the “sovereignties parade”) to absolute centralization. Russia has finished this cycle for the period from 1989 to 2014, and now it faces the threat of the next wave of decentralization.
The author states, that there is a neutral position of the system, “the golden mean”, at which the relationships between the center and the regions are stable and not subjected to neither cenrifugal, nor centripetal forces. In order to determine this “golden mean” the author proposes to use the historical experience of dealing with the state structure issue in the Russian Empire, the RSFSR and the USSR.
The analisys shows that despite the rather complex state system structure in the Russian Empire it remained a unitary state. The status of various areas, including those with elements of political autonomy, had not been unified, and the power of the center was based on the national and local traditions. The analysis of the RSFSR Constitution of 1918, that proclaimed Russia as a federation, and the practice of its application also indicates a unitary model of state. The emergence of the term "federation" itself was not associated with the concept of national-territorial structure, but with the need to preserve the state integrity: to find a compromise between unitarianism and separation. This same tactic was used to preserve the state integrity in 1990-1993. However, by the end of 2000’s the region’s independence, presented in the federation, was actually nullified.
The current Russian region’s status can be defined as a public (political) national-territorial autonomy in a unitary state. Thus, the federation in Russia is notional or symbolic. In fact, Russia is the unitary-regionalist state in which the federal rhetoric is used as a tool for tactical political maneuvering. This means that the center’s policy toward the regions must be flexible and not based on absolute dictatorship. The "strength" of the center must be based on its ability to maintain peace and prosperity throughout the country by non-violent means, as well as on the building of relationships with the regions on the basis of respect and consideration for their interests, including the formation of the budget.