The Ural Republic in 1993: An Attempt to Expand the Independence by a Russian Region

Abstract

The Ural Republic serves as an illustration of the struggle for expanding subjects’ independence and transforming Russian federalism in the early 1990s. The purpose of this study is to explore the Ural Republic in the context of the search for a Russian model of federalism in the early 1990s. Archival materials of the Russian Presidential Administration structural divisions and state authorities of the Sverdlovsk region are key sources. The main materials for the article include program documents and analytical notes reflecting views on the nature of the state-territorial structure by current authorities and fixing the expert and analytical view of the higher state authorities on the developing processes dynamics and associated risks. During the period under review, the search for a new model of federalism and building relations between the federal center and the regions was carried out not only in public and political discussions, but also by implementing specific steps in practice. In 1993, in the context of the growing confrontation between the President and the Supreme Soviet and the formation of new constitutional foundations for Russian statehood, one of the attempts to expand regional independence was the activity of the Sverdlovsk region authorities. For several years the issue of increasing regional independence and transferring a significant part of the powers from the federal center to the regions arose and developed before the actual denouement in 1993. However, such aspirations were perceived ambiguously. Finally, the federal center refused the request to expand independence in the form of creating the Ural Republic on the basis of the Sverdlovsk region.