%0 Journal Article
%T Russia¡¯s centralized authoritarianism in the disguise of democratic federalism: Evidence from the September 2017 sub
%A Grigorii V Golosov
%J International Area Studies Review
%@ 2049-1123
%D 2018
%R 10.1177/2233865918789521
%X While formally a federation that vests significant powers in the sub-national bodies of government and leaves it for its federal units and municipalities to decide who will govern them by conducting elections, the Russian Federation is effectively a centralized authoritarian state. This paper uses evidence from the September 2017 sub-national elections in Russia to examine the role of formal political institutions in sustaining the country¡¯s political regime. The analysis shows that the political domination of the pro-government party over the regional political assemblies is sustained by a complex combination of party regulations and electoral rules. In particular, gubernatorial elections are organized and conducted in a way that ensures the victories of the incumbent governors who are effectively appointed by the president of Russia
%K Authoritarianism
%K elections
%K municipal government
%K regional government
%K Russia
%U https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2233865918789521