THE PROBLEMS OF THE REGIONAL POLICY IN RUSSIA IN THE CONTEXT OF THE WORLD PRACTICES

Subject. This article examines the possibilities of transforming the relations between the center and the regions in Russia. Topic. Problems of regional policy in Russia in the context of foreign experience. Purposes. To analyze some aspects of regional policy in different countries of the world to understand the possibilities of regional transformation in the Russian Federation. Methodology. Institutional and neoinstitutional methods, system approach, comparative method. Results. Each system of government has a» corridor « of improvement, which is associated with certain difficulties on the way to implementation. Regional policy in Russia tends to be centralized, which may limit the opportunities for regional development. At the same time, there is a need to maintain a single vertical of power and avoid the risks associated with decentralization. Application area. The results of the study can be applied by specialists in the field of regional policy and political management, teachers and students of higher educational institutions. Conclusions. The coronavirus pandemic has led to the activation of regional activities and the actualization of the regional agenda, while the 2020 constitutional reform is focused on strengthening the center and consolidating the vertical. Russia needs to avoid both the risks of over-centralization and the risks of excessive decentralization, while taking into account the specifics of individual regions. Keywords: regional policy, overcentralization, decentralization, form of government, centre, periphery.