Pluralism in the Komi Republic? Overcoming Executive Resistance

Demokratizatsiya

Volumn 7, Issue 3, 1999, Pages 370-382

  Alexander, James ^a  

^a NORTHEASTERN STATE UNIVERSITY   (United States)

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EID: 0011878992     PISSN: 10746846     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: None     Document Type: Article

References (80)

1. For examples of this phenomenon, see Peter Kirkow, "Regional Warlordism in Russia: The Case of Primorskii Kra,i" Europe-Asia Studies 47, no. 6 (1995): 923-47, and Neil J. Melvin, "The Consolidation of a New Regional Elite: The Case of Omsk 1987-1995," Europe-Asia Studies 50, no. 4 (1998): 619-50.
2. For examples of this phenomenon, see Peter Kirkow, "Regional Warlordism in Russia: The Case of Primorskii Kra,i" Europe-Asia Studies 47, no. 6 (1995): 923-47, and Neil J. Melvin, "The Consolidation of a New Regional Elite: The Case of Omsk 1987-1995," Europe-Asia Studies 50, no. 4 (1998): 619-50.
3. Olga Kryshtanovskaya and Stephen White, "From Soviet Nomenklatura to Russian Elite," Europe-Asia Studies 48, no. 5 (1996): 711-33; James Hughes, "Sub-national Elites and Post-communist Transformation in Russia: A Reply to Kryshtanovskaya & White," Europe-Asia Studies 49, no. 6 (1997): 1017-36; D. V. Badovskii and A. Iu. Shutov, "Regional Elites in Post-Soviet Russia: Aspects of Political Involvement," Russian Social Science Review 38. no. 3 (May-June 1997): 32-5.
4. Olga Kryshtanovskaya and Stephen White, "From Soviet Nomenklatura to Russian Elite," Europe-Asia Studies 48, no. 5 (1996): 711-33; James Hughes, "Sub-national Elites and Post-communist Transformation in Russia: A Reply to Kryshtanovskaya & White," Europe-Asia Studies 49, no. 6 (1997): 1017-36; D. V. Badovskii and A. Iu. Shutov, "Regional Elites in Post-Soviet Russia: Aspects of Political Involvement," Russian Social Science Review 38. no. 3 (May-June 1997): 32-5.
5. Olga Kryshtanovskaya and Stephen White, "From Soviet Nomenklatura to Russian Elite," Europe-Asia Studies 48, no. 5 (1996): 711-33; James Hughes, "Sub-national Elites and Post-communist Transformation in Russia: A Reply to Kryshtanovskaya & White," Europe-Asia Studies 49, no. 6 (1997): 1017-36; D. V. Badovskii and A. Iu. Shutov, "Regional Elites in Post-Soviet Russia: Aspects of Political Involvement," Russian Social Science Review 38. no. 3 (May-June 1997): 32-5.
6. Marcia A. Weigle, "The Construction of an Independent Public Sphere in Russia's Regions," Demokratizatsiya 5, no. 2 (Spring 1997): 239-62; Badovskii and Shutov, "Regional Elites in Post-Soviet Russia"; Kirkow, "Regional Warlordism in Russia"; and Hughes, "Sub-national Elites and Post-communist Transformation in Russia."
7. Marcia A. Weigle, "The Construction of an Independent Public Sphere in Russia's Regions," Demokratizatsiya 5, no. 2 (Spring 1997): 239-62; Badovskii and Shutov, "Regional Elites in Post-Soviet Russia"; Kirkow, "Regional Warlordism in Russia"; and Hughes, "Sub-national Elites and Post-communist Transformation in Russia."
8. Lynn D. Nelson and Irina Y. Kuzes, "Interest Representation in Sverdlovsk and the Ascendancy of Regional Corporatism," Demokratizatsiya 5, no. 2 (Spring 1997): 222-37; Greg Poelzer, "Devolution, Constitutional Development, and the Russian North," Post-Soviet Geography 36, no. 4 (1995): 204-14; Vladimir Lysenko, "Problemy Razvitiia Federativnykh Otnoshenii v Sovremennoi Rossii," Kentavr (March-April 1995): 24.
9. Lynn D. Nelson and Irina Y. Kuzes, "Interest Representation in Sverdlovsk and the Ascendancy of Regional Corporatism," Demokratizatsiya 5, no. 2 (Spring 1997): 222-37; Greg Poelzer, "Devolution, Constitutional Development, and the Russian North," Post-Soviet Geography 36, no. 4 (1995): 204-14; Vladimir Lysenko, "Problemy Razvitiia Federativnykh Otnoshenii v Sovremennoi Rossii," Kentavr (March-April 1995): 24.
10. Lynn D. Nelson and Irina Y. Kuzes, "Interest Representation in Sverdlovsk and the Ascendancy of Regional Corporatism," Demokratizatsiya 5, no. 2 (Spring 1997): 222-37; Greg Poelzer, "Devolution, Constitutional Development, and the Russian North," Post-Soviet Geography 36, no. 4 (1995): 204-14; Vladimir Lysenko, "Problemy Razvitiia Federativnykh Otnoshenii v Sovremennoi Rossii," Kentavr (March-April 1995): 24.
11. Frank L. Wilson, Concepts and Issues in Comparative Politics (Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice Hall, 1996), 14-15.
12. Dmitry Babich, "Iron Fist of Local Bosses," Moscow Times, 15 April 1998. As appeared in Johnson's Russia List, 15 April 1998 (davidjohnson@erols.com).
13. Dmitry Babich, "Iron Fist of Local Bosses," Moscow Times, 15 April 1998. As appeared in Johnson's Russia List, 15 April 1998 (davidjohnson@erols.com).
14. "Zakon Rossiiskoi Federatsii 'ob obshchikh printsipakh organizatsii mestnogo samoupravleniia v Rossiiskoi Federatsii'," Obshchee delo 1 (Syktyvkar: Komi Respublikanskaia tipografiia, 1996): 69-78.
15. Peter Kirkow, "Local Self-government in Russia: Awakening from a Slumber?" Europe-Asia Studies 49, no. 1 (1997): 48-49.
16. IEWS Russian Regional Report (Internet Edition), 5 February 1998.
17. Interview with Valerii Potolitsin, director of the Committee on Legislation and Deputy Ethics (Komi State Council). 1 July 1997.
18. In accordance with Philip Hanson's contentions, Komi's possession of natural resources makes it one of the stronger candidates for weathering the storm of economic reforms. While prices on the international market vary, oil and gas are particularly valuable as a means for acquiring foreign currency, a fact that is more pressing with the summer 1998 devaluation of the ruble. See, "Samara: A Preliminary Profile of a Russian Region and its Adaptation to the Market," Europe-Asia Studies 49, no. 3 (1997): 407.
19. S. Morokhin, "Viktor Chernomyrdin and Yurii Spiridonov obshchalis' na Ty'," Molodezh severa, 13 November 1997, 1. In this particular meeting in Syktyvkar less than three weeks prior to Komi executive elections in fall 1997, it was clear that Chernomyrdin's visit was timed to support Spiridonov's candidacy.
20. Vladimir Shlapentokh, From Submission to Rebellion (Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1997), 99-100.
21. This followed the failure of a December 1993 referendum to create a presidency in Komi.
22. Poelzer, "Devolution, Constitutional Development, and the Russian North," 208.
23. According to Marcia Weigle, although obstacles to civil society activity have diminished some aspects of popular participation, there continues to be a vibrancy among groups that is a credit to their tenacity in an unfriendly political environment in many regions of Russia. See "The Construction of an Independent Public Sphere in Russia's Regions," 239-40.
24. Interview with Igor Bobrakov, assistant editor, Molodesh Severa, 4 July 1997.
25. James Alexander, "Political Culture in Flux," Ph.D. dissertation, 1996, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.
26. Interview with Sergei Gusiatnikov, state council deputy and deputy agriculture minister, 4 July 1997.
27. "Dogovor o razgranichenii predmetov vedeniia i polnomochii mezhdu organami gosudarstvennoi vlasti Rossiiskoi Federatsii i organami gosudarstvennoi vlasti Respubliki Komi," 20 March 1996.
28. Kirkow, "Regional Warlordism in Russia," and Melvin, "The Consolidation of a New Regional Elite."
29. Igor Bobrakov, "Partiia vlasti zakonchila reformu vlasti," Molodesk Severa, 2 February 1995, 4.
30. Kirkow, "Regional Warlordism in Russia," 926, 940; Hughes, "Sub-national Elites and Post-communist Transformation in Russia," 1031; Melvin, "The Consolidation of a New Regional Elite," 627; D.V. Badovskii and A. Iu. Shutov, "Regional Elites in Post-Soviet Russia," 33; and Darrel Slider, "Privatization in Russia's Regions," Post-Soviet Affairs 10, no. 4 (1994): 377.
31. Kirkow, "Regional Warlordism in Russia," 926, 940; Hughes, "Sub-national Elites and Post-communist Transformation in Russia," 1031; Melvin, "The Consolidation of a New Regional Elite," 627; D.V. Badovskii and A. Iu. Shutov, "Regional Elites in Post-Soviet Russia," 33; and Darrel Slider, "Privatization in Russia's Regions," Post-Soviet Affairs 10, no. 4 (1994): 377.
32. Kirkow, "Regional Warlordism in Russia," 926, 940; Hughes, "Sub-national Elites and Post-communist Transformation in Russia," 1031; Melvin, "The Consolidation of a New Regional Elite," 627; D.V. Badovskii and A. Iu. Shutov, "Regional Elites in Post-Soviet Russia," 33; and Darrel Slider, "Privatization in Russia's Regions," Post-Soviet Affairs 10, no. 4 (1994): 377.
33. Kirkow, "Regional Warlordism in Russia," 926, 940; Hughes, "Sub-national Elites and Post-communist Transformation in Russia," 1031; Melvin, "The Consolidation of a New Regional Elite," 627; D.V. Badovskii and A. Iu. Shutov, "Regional Elites in Post-Soviet Russia," 33; and Darrel Slider, "Privatization in Russia's Regions," Post-Soviet Affairs 10, no. 4 (1994): 377.
34. Kirkow, "Regional Warlordism in Russia," 926, 940; Hughes, "Sub-national Elites and Post-communist Transformation in Russia," 1031; Melvin, "The Consolidation of a New Regional Elite," 627; D.V. Badovskii and A. Iu. Shutov, "Regional Elites in Post-Soviet Russia," 33; and Darrel Slider, "Privatization in Russia's Regions," Post-Soviet Affairs 10, no. 4 (1994): 377.
35. Gusiatnikov interview, 4 July 1997.
36. Bobrakov interview, 4 July 1997.
37. Igor Bobrakov, "Po davnomu izvestnomu tsenariu proshla pervaia sessiia Gossoveta Respublika Komi," Molodesh Severa, 9 February 1995, 1-2. After a year of unemployment following the "loss" of his ministry, Khudiaev would eventually join Spiridonov's "team" as the Komi director of road construction. In this way, Khudiaev models the degree of pragmatism in Komi politics. Rather than an issue of ideology - or political commitment - personal success comes to the fore.
38. "Pervyi taim oni uzhe otygrali," Molodesh Severa, 4 September 1997, 4. It appears that it was less a situation of positive economic conditions in summer/fall 1997 than the expectation that certain coming state policies - for example, the re-denomination of the ruble - would have adverse effects on the economic situation in Russia prior to the original election date. As the incumbent, Spiridonov did not want to take a risk that he could avoid.
39. Nazdratenko has also been actively involved in "directing" electoral processes in legislative and executive elections. See Peter Kirkow, "Regional Warlordism in Russia," 930, 935-36.
40. Igor Bobrakov, "Glava skazal: 'Nado!', Gossovet otvetil: 'Est'!'," Molodesh Severa, 28 August 1997, 2.
41. "Predvaritel'nye itogi golosovaniia na vyborakh Glavy RK 30 noiabria," Molodesh Severn, 4 December 1997, 2.
42. Yuri Spiridonov, "Mestnoe samoupravlenie. Programma i prognoz na 1996-1997 gg.," Obshchee delo I (Syktyvkar: Komi respublikanskaiia tipografiia, 1996), 12. In his March 1996 speech to the State Council, Spiridonov spells out his perspective on the implementation of federal laws requiring the implementation of local self-government in the regions. He argues that implementation of the law would worsen the situation in Komi, claiming they neither have the normative base nor the finances to implement such a program. He believes that such a transition should be carried out gradually.
43. Interview with Andrei Borodikin, chief of the mayor's press center, Syktyvkar, 14 July 1997.
44. This type of a closed system is also apparent in Omsk oblast'. See James Hughes, "Sub-national Elites and Post-communist Transformation in Russia," 1031.
45. V. Turkin, "V 'krainikh' khodiat zhurnalisty," Krasnoe znamia, 27 June 1997, 1.
46. In this way Spiridonov has not been as severe as Nazdratenko, who has been known to suspend media outlets critical of his regime. Peter Kirkow, "Regional Warlordism in Russia," 937.
47. Bobrakov interview, 4 July 1997.
48. The limited local activity of national parties is an additional deterrent to the expansion of a popular role in civil society creation and vitality. See, Marcia Weigle, "The Construction of an Independent Public Sphere in Russia's Regions," 239-40.
49. Interview with Valerii Potolitsin, director of the Committee for Legislation and Deputy Ethics in the State Council, 1 July 1997.
50. Interview with Vasilii Kuznetsov, director of the Committee for the Budget, Taxes and Economic Policy in the State Council, 14 July 1997.
51. A. Lisov, "Demokraty ob'edinilis' na vremennykh usloviiakh," Molodesh Severa, 8 June 1995, 2. Members included Russia's Democratic Choice, the Party of Economic Freedom, Beer Lovers Party, Democratic Russia, and other socio-political movements.
52. A. Lisov, "Litso k litsu," Molodesh Severa, 7 September 1995, 4.
53. Matthew Wyman, Stephen White, Bill Miller and Paul Heywood, "Public Opinion, Parties and Voters in the December 1993 Elections," Europe-Asia Studies 47, no. 4 (1995): 591-614.
54. A. Lisov, "Zakonodatel'naia vlast' respubliki podruzhilas' s liderami obshchestvennykh ob'edineni," Molodesh Severa, 4 May 1996, 2.
55. A. Grigor'ev, "Sovet obshchestvennykh ob'edinenii sovetuet," Molodesh Severa, 18 July 1996, 2.
56. "Postanovlenie Konstitutsionnogo suda Rossiiskoi Federatsii," Respublika, 3 February 1998, 10-12.
57. Kathryn Hendley, "Legal Development in Post-Soviet Russia," Post-Soviet Affairs 13, no. 3 (1997): 228-51.
58. "O federal'nom zakone 'Ob obshchikh printsipakh organizatsii mestnogo samoupravleniia v Rossiskoi Federatsii'," Obshchee delo 1 (Syktyvkar: Komi respublikanskaia tipografiia, 1996), 79.
59. It was also during this period (20 March 1996), that the power-sharing agreement between the Kremlin and Syktyvkar was signed.
60. In contrast to Nazdratenko's rule in Primorskii Krai, Spiridonov appears to have significant less influence over the local courts. See Peter Kirkow, "Regional Warlordism in Russia," 928.
61. "Zakon Respubliki Komi 'O gosudarstvennoi sluzhbe Respubliki Komi'," Respublika, 9 April 1996, 3-6. Since that time, the Russian Constitutional Court has ruled that heads of administration do not fit the criteria for civil servants, thus permitting their election to regional legislatures. See "Local Government Executives can Serve in Regional Legislatures." IEWS Regional Report (Internet Edition), 12 March 1998.
62. "Zakon Respubliki Komi 'O gosudarstvennoi sluzhbe Respubliki Komi'," Respublika, 9 April 1996, 3-6. Since that time, the Russian Constitutional Court has ruled that heads of administration do not fit the criteria for civil servants, thus permitting their election to regional legislatures. See "Local Government Executives can Serve in Regional Legislatures." IEWS Regional Report (Internet Edition), 12 March 1998.
63. Igor Bobrakov, "Kontekst nedeli," Molodesh Severa. 7 March 1996, 2.
64. Ibid., 27 March 1997, 2.
65. Peter Kirkow, "Local Self-government in Russia," 47.
66. This means regions that currently have a head of administration named by the head of republic.
67. Igor Bobrakov, "Cherepash'im shagom k mestnomu samoupravleniiu," Molodesh Severa, 29 May 1997, 2.
68. Igor Bobrakov. "Vmesto dvoinykh vyborov - vybory s plebistsitom," Molodesh Severa, 9 October 1997, 2. The local councils of Syktyvkar and Ukhla passes laws in summer 1997 that divided the cities into twelve and eighteen parts, respectively. Peter Kirkow discusses the general issues of taxation and services in local self-government in "Local Self-government in Russia," 50-51.
69. Igor Bobrakov. "Vmesto dvoinykh vyborov - vybory s plebistsitom," Molodesh Severa, 9 October 1997, 2. The local councils of Syktyvkar and Ukhla passes laws in summer 1997 that divided the cities into twelve and eighteen parts, respectively. Peter Kirkow discusses the general issues of taxation and services in local self-government in "Local Self-government in Russia," 50-51.
70. Igor Bobrakov, "Samoupravstvo nad samopravleniem," Molodesh Severa, 5 June 1997, 4
71. Igor Bobrakov, "Glava skazal: 'Nado!', Gossovet otvetil: 'Est'!'
72. Igor Bobrakov, "Vmesto dvoinykh vyborov - vybory s plebistsitom."
73. Igor Bobrakov, "Narod okazalsia umnee narodnykh izbrannikov," Molodesh Severa, 4 December 1997.
74. "Komi President Refuses to Obey Constitutional Court Ruling on Local Government," IEWS Russian Regional Report (Internet Edition), 5 February 1998. See also, "Discusses Local Elections and Complying with Constitutional Court Ruling," IEWS Russian Regional Report (Internet Edition), 5 February 1998. During the period before the 1993 constitutional referendum, Spiridonov pointed to the absence of provisions from the Federation Treaty as his reason for opposing the document's acceptance.
75. "Komi President Refuses to Obey Constitutional Court Ruling on Local Government," IEWS Russian Regional Report (Internet Edition), 5 February 1998. See also, "Discusses Local Elections and Complying with Constitutional Court Ruling," IEWS Russian Regional Report (Internet Edition), 5 February 1998. During the period before the 1993 constitutional referendum, Spiridonov pointed to the absence of provisions from the Federation Treaty as his reason for opposing the document's acceptance.
76. This raises notions of "patronage" civil society - in which groups are at least nominally dependent on authority for resources - that I have seen in both Syktyvkar and Kirov over the past several years. See James Alexander, Political Culture in Flux. Marcia Weigle discusses the apparent cooptation of economic groups across Russia through the provision of state funds. See "The Construction of an Independent Public Sphere in Russia's Regions," 254.
77. This raises notions of "patronage" civil society - in which groups are at least nominally dependent on authority for resources - that I have seen in both Syktyvkar and Kirov over the past several years. See James Alexander, Political Culture in Flux. Marcia Weigle discusses the apparent cooptation of economic groups across Russia through the provision of state funds. See "The Construction of an Independent Public Sphere in Russia's Regions," 254.
78. Interview with Olga Sevast'ianova, director, Komi Division of Women of Russia, 7 July 1997.
79. Yuri Shabaev, "Komi Republic Legislature Confirms President's Appointees?" IEWS Russian Regional Report (Internet Edition), 26 February 1998.
80. Yuri Shabaev, "Komi Republic Concerned over Russian Government Reshuffle," IEWS Russian Regional Report (Internet Edition), 9 April 1998.