The Fall and Rise of Regionalism?

Abstract

The centralization of power and the decline of regionalism were two of Vladimir Putin's principal achievements during his presidency. These achievements are now threatened by the global financial crisis, which weakens the Russian central state and widens existing divisions between the centre and the regions. While the crisis does not portend a revival of a 1990s-style regionalism, it exposes the Kremlin's over-centralization of power in the form of stress within the ruling party, United Russia, and rising internal defections among regional elites. As a result, the regime is increasingly vulnerable to social protest and its potential transformation into anti-regime nationalism.