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This essay examines how the Ukrainian and Russian government-owned newspapers, Uriadovyi Kurier and Rossiiskaya Gazeta, represent people displaced by the war in Donbas, analysing the political goals revealed by these publications' attitudes towards the displaced. While the Ukrainian publication delimits the nation by distinguishing 'real' internally displaced people (IDPs) deserving help and 'fake' IDPs guilty of siphoning Ukrainian taxpayers' money to rebel-held areas, the Russian paper foregrounds the Russian state's competence in managing displacement while silencing the displaced themselves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examined the role of peer review in the quality assurance system developed for the regulation of higher education institutions in Russia. Given their negative attitude towards the state's attempts to increase control over universities, how can the participation of academics in regulatory activity be explained? This essay applies resource allocation theory to suggest that engagement in academic service might depend on an individual's performance of their core professional task: research. Results indicate that Russian academics who perform relatively poorly with respect to publications and citations in selective journals are more likely to engage in academic citizenship in the form of inspections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Youth civic engagement in post-socialist countries and youth enrolment in defending the current regimes or contesting them became a growing topic of research in the 2000s. This essay examines a category of largely under-studied youth social engagement in Russia: patriotic clubs for children, teenagers and young adults. These clubs do not come close to the stereotypes promoted by the state patriotic education programmes. There is a major gap between the activists' patriotic narratives and practices, and those expected by the Kremlin. The first part of the paper investigates the notion of ‘patriotic club’ as a broad umbrella that covers multiple activities and practices. Then it explores their meanings and three of their main functions, as a professional tool on the job market, a source of cultural capital, and a way to develop a depoliticised social engagement. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The passing of the Russian NGO Law in mid-2006 set clear parameters for Russian NGO activity and civil society development. In this paper we assess the impact of the NGO Law on both NGOs and Russian civil society. Our findings illustrate that the NGO Law has led to a reduction in NGO activity and curtailment of civil society development. We conclude that Russian civil society appears to be dominated by groups funded and thus controlled by the state. This has implications for Russia's on-going democratic development. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Political and economic outcomes depend, in part, on the quality of the officials making policy. Some argue that free elections are the best method for selecting competent officials. Others argue that elections lead to the selection of amateurs and demagogues. We use original data on the biographies of Russian regional governors to examine the backgrounds of elected and appointed governors. Elected governors are more likely to be locals. Appointed governors are more likely to be federal bureaucrats or hold a graduate degree. We conclude the paper by speculating on other possible explanations for variation in governor background. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The identity of a prisoner's wife is often a shameful societal stigma. Yet Russia's unique history of imprisonment has provided an unusually positive trope for women who have to come to terms with their partners' incarceration: the ‘Decembrist wife’ (dekabristka). This trope originated in the aftermath of the 1825 ‘Decembrist’ uprising—the first anti-monarchist revolt in modern Russian history. A handful of wives of the perpetrators voluntarily joined their husbands in Siberian exile and, in leaving behind families and comforts, created a precedent to be glorified for future generations. Upheld in Russian national mythology as a model of the exemplary wife, the dekabristka identity lives on. This paper examines its enduring power and significance in contemporary Russia. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Investigates the association of economist John Maynard Keynes to the financing of Russia during World War I. Impact of the opinions of economists on the strategies of political parties; Examination on the debate on the Russian gold reserves and currency issue; Role of Keynes in the war finance of Russia.

Previous studies on individual-level gender ideologies in Russia have produced conflicting results, with some suggesting re-traditionalisation and others noting increasing egalitarianism. This research explores changes in the Russian population's views on gender division of labour between 1994 and 2012, moving beyond unidimensional conceptualisations of gender ideology that juxtapose traditionalism with egalitarianism. The findings evidence highly class-specific gender-ideology trajectories. Only lower classes increased their support for separate spheres. Amongst the more educated and affluent, 're-traditionalisation' instead entailed increased endorsement of both joint breadwinning and gender-essentialist views of women's caring roles at the expense of support for the housewife/male-breadwinner model and for egalitarianism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay investigates how large companies in Russia communicate their engagement with the social welfare of people with disabilities. We analysed non-financial reports and studied how people with disabilities are addressed with regard to internal social policies and corporate social responsibility activities. We asked about the content and meaning of the reporting and built a typology of companies' reported activities regarding welfare and inclusion in the workplace and in wider society. We attribute differences between the company groups to legacies of the Soviet welfare system, the characteristics of industrial sectors and the nature of state–business relationships in Russia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The essay compares the public evaluation of healthcare systems in Latvia and Russia in terms of efficiency and quality of healthcare services, unofficial payments and informal gift-giving practices, and social exclusion in the area of healthcare. The coronavirus pandemic has exposed shortcomings in the availability of healthcare services, which highlights the importance and relevance of this research. In particular, I give an overview of problems people face when they receive medical treatment and test whether public perceptions vary across different social groups. To explain the observed differences, I focus on the institutional background to the current state of healthcare systems in Russia and Latvia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay explores the changing shape of transitions from education to employment amongst deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHOH) youth in Russia. It draws on survey and interview data to show that, despite the formal institution of inclusive policies and legal frameworks at the state level, the choices open to DHOH youth remain heavily limited, and become narrower at each stage of their transitions to adulthood. This narrowing of horizons and attendant marginalisation stems from the ongoing salience of disabling, medical approaches to deafness; a lack of enabling practices or resources to support DHOH youth in the education system; and widespread discrimination from employers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay presents the discourse of 'dignified ageing' (dostoinoe starenie) mobilised by policy entrepreneurs in Russia in the fight for long-term care reform, which has been underway since 2017. Experts and practitioners have been voicing concerns about the quality of life and care for senior citizens in Russia and addressing barriers to and opportunities for improvement. Their master frame has been 'dignified ageing', which conveys multiple meanings and is aimed at mobilising the support of authorities and publics. We analyse public presentations and semi-structured interviews with reform entrepreneurs to explore their perspectives on 'dignified ageing' in the Russian context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The completion of the natural gas pipeline 'Power of Siberia' in 2019 creates new dynamics in Eurasian trade. Russia's deepening ties with China present it with the opportunity to change its relationship with the European Union from monopsony to monopoly, thus gaining bargaining leverage. However, this argument goes both ways, being also applicable to Russo–Chinese affairs, with the European Union as the alternative option. The article concludes that Russia, while seriously strengthened by its developing energy relationship with China, will not endanger its status as a reliable supplier across Eurasia, since its nascent monopoly position depends on the existence of an alternative option. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The annexation of Crimea and occupation of parts of Donbas removed from Ukraine's electorate 3.5 million voters that had previously voted heavily for pro-Russian parties. Examining the 2019 presidential and parliamentary elections, this article asks two questions: how might the results of the election have been different had voters in occupied Donbas been able to vote? Do 2019 voting patterns support the thesis that the Ukrainian electorate had significantly changed its values in the period 2014–2019 or had long-standing cleavages endured? Voter alignments identified before 2014 persisted, with important implications for Russia's efforts to win influence in Ukraine. The weakening of pro-Russian parties caused by Russia's invasion in 2014 helped create the conditions in which Russia could not achieve its goals without an all-out invasion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

EU energy policy influences the energy cooperation of its member states with Russia. Thus, how Russia perceives the European Union as an energy actor is significant. The article draws on an analysis of the discourse—and the topics within it—of public statements by Russian political leaders and officials regarding energy relations with the European Union in the period 2014–2019. By interpreting the core themes and content, it attempts to prove whether the European Union is recognised as an energy actor by Russia or whether Russia, rather, continues to acknowledge individual states as actors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay explores the regional rivalry between Russia and Turkey from the former's annexation of Crimea in 2014 to its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The main argument is that Russia and Turkey have maintained a managed regional rivalry. The two have continuously supported opposing sides in regional conflict theatres. At the same time, Russia and Turkey have learned to accommodate the interests and spheres of influence of each other and cooperate through various bilateral mechanisms. The essay concludes that a form of managed regional rivalry will continue to shape Russian–Turkish relations in Eurasia in the foreseeable future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Russia has sought to maintain its influence in the South Caucasus by a variety of means, viewing the region as an area of crucial importance for its core strategic interests. However, China's prominence in the South Caucasus has increased significantly over the past decade, as the South Caucasus states seek to diversify their diplomatic and economic ties. This essay explores whether Russia's regional hegemony in the South Caucasus is being challenged by China: does China's growing engagement with the states of the South Caucasus pose a challenge to Russian influence within its traditional zone of 'privileged interest'? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cohen likewise concludes that 'Ukraine is a problem for Putin's Russia not because it may join NATO, but because it is democratizing' (Cohen [15]).[6] In short, the claim is that Moscow opposes democratic transitions in the post-Soviet region, as they may prove contagious and spread to Russia itself - a democratic "domino theory" of sorts. To be sure, many other state leaders would be envious of this number; yet, given Russia's highly personalised political system, popularity ratings below 60% constitute a potential threat to the regime's stability. 48 Korolev, A. (2017) ' Theories of Non-Balancing and Russia's Foreign Policy ', Journal of Strategic Studies, 41, 6. 49 Köstem, S. (2018) ' Different Paths to Regional Hegemony: National Identity Contestation and Foreign Economic Strategy in Russia and Turkey ', Review of International Political Economy, 25, 5. 50 Kramer, A. E. (2008) "Russia Claims its Sphere of Influence in the World", New York Times, 31 August, available at: https://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/01/world/europe/01russia.html, accessed 25 September 2020. The domestic drivers of Russia's policy in post-Soviet Eurasia One set of explanations suggests that domestic political considerations are the principal driver of Russia's policy in the region. [Extracted from the article]

A widespread argument in regionalism studies is that elite narratives are crucial for strengthening regional integration projects. The essay shows that this conjecture does not hold in the case of Eurasian regionalism. Russian elites demonstrate a very high level of rhetorical commitment to regionalism. However, Russia's rhetoric is characterised by a permanent dissonance. Officially, Russian elites highlight the equality of all participants in regional arrangements and respect for their sovereignty. At the same time, Russian politicians and bureaucrats regularly make imperialist statements to placate domestic audiences. As a result, most framings of Eurasian regionalism that can be derived from Russian discourses are highly unappealing to other post-Soviet states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The essay analyses Russia's historical goals in Eurasia and argues that the geopolitical meaning of Russia's annexation of Crimea is closely related to the Kremlin's ambition to play a key role in structuring the region. Russia's determination to remain a major power, along with the global power transition from the West-centred to an increasingly regionalised world, make Russia's return to Eurasia important. The return to Eurasia has demonstrated its promise to facilitate increased commercial relations within the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) as well as with China and other Asian countries. The future of Eurasia and Russia's role in the region remain uncertain, however, because major participants are yet to align their visions of Eurasia, while Russia itself has yet to consolidate its internal economic and state capabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay analyses the evolving character of Russia's energy relationships in the post-Soviet space by looking at the Caucasus and Central Asia. In the past, due to the historic legacy of Russia-controlled pipelines, Moscow was able to exert influence by manipulating structural asymmetries in regional natural gas value chains. This has changed with China's entry as the region's major market alternative and the breakthroughs of the global energy transition. The initial phase of Russia's declining 'energy power' vis-à-vis China in Central Asia came to an end as the Crimea crisis was unfolding, an event that has drastically changed the risk perception of Russian gas in Europe, setting off a chain of consequences that led to a re-evaluation of Russia's energy power in post-Soviet Eurasia. The essay also shows, however, that Russia maintains influence in post-Soviet Eurasia through inter-elite networks and shared concerns among hydrocarbon-exporting countries about the energy transition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay complements the other contributions to this special issue by placing Russia's neighbourhood policy into a broader temporal and theoretical perspective. It shows that Russia's political elite during the last three decades has been largely united behind the goal of establishing a Moscow-centred regional security order. Yet, despite this broad-based consensus, Russia's policy in the former Soviet area has varied markedly across time and space. To account for this pattern, the essay develops and tests a neoclassical realist approach that explains why, how and when major powers such as Russia pursue regional primacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is no secret that the modernisation process in Russia via state-owned companies has run into a dead end. A full understanding of this stagnation requires an investigation of the governance systems and the changes going on behind them. Using the example of the two most important state-owned companies of the aviation sector, the JSC United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) and the non-profit organisation (state corporation—Gosudarstvennaya Korporatsiya) Rostec, this article shows the main differences in state corporate governance systems, identifying a presidential and a governmental governance system. In the context of this work, the term governmental is limited only to the federal cabinet and its administrations, thereby creating an awareness that different executive state bodies can exercise different forms of state governance. Overall, the sector is characterised by growing informalisation and industrial incorporation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Universities have long been seen as hotbeds of student activism. Yet institutions of higher education differ in their capacity to serve as mobilising structures. This study argues that history of activism, quality of education and local political climate influence a university's potential to foster student protest engagement. Using a case study approach, the essay traces how a configuration of structural and cultural factors at three universities in western Siberia shaped Russian students' involvement in the 2017 anti-corruption protests. At the same time, it demonstrates how universities in contemporary Russia are used as an instrument of authoritarian control to suppress anti-regime mobilisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Combating illegal parking and drinking in public is the raison d'être of Russia's best-known law-and-order youth initiatives, StopKham and Lev Protiv. These initiatives enforce and promote neotraditional morals amongst young people by challenging alleged offenders on camera and uploading the entertaining, humorous and often violent video clips to YouTube. I argue that their practices encapsulate flexible authoritarianism, in which the regime incentivises citizens to take initiative while expanding repressive measures against dissenters. Not only do these enterprises reflect the regime's goals back at itself, they also popularise a new ideal of heroic masculinity that fuses patriotism with entrepreneurialism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article explores Russia's 'turn to the East' and examines different and often conflicting visions of development that emerged in the process of reconstructing the Russian Far Eastern development strategy at regional and federal levels. It draws on a 'thick' case study of the special investment regime, Free Port Vladivostok, which exemplifies simultaneously a new approach to regional development and the contradictions spawned by it. Analysis of Free Port Vladivostok represents an entry point into a discussion of Russian neoliberalisation and 'actually (non-)existent neoliberalism'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article investigates how Russian state and non-state actors promote religious narratives in the Middle East and what influence these narratives have on foreign policy. Adopting the interpretivist perspective, it combines critical discourse analysis and process tracing for the period 2011–2018. Two major narratives are identified: a specifically Orthodox narrative and a narrative grounded in Christian and broader spiritual values as well as inter-religious dialogue. The findings show that these religious narratives target strategically Middle Eastern and international audiences, generating various interactions and legitimising Russian foreign policy, including its military intervention in Syria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on expert interviews (n = 75) conducted between October 2018 and July 2019 in selected Russian regions, the authors identify several types of strategies used by businesses while dealing with the government. These include collusion, revolving-door affiliations, conflict of interest, 'voluntary' donations and other forms of support to the ruling party (and sometimes the opposition parties) in exchange for public contracts or preferential treatment. The study outcomes suggest that it is almost impossible to do business in Russia without using these types of strategies. The authors trace some of these forms back to the Soviet period and discuss possible remedies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on the example of constraints on protest music in Belarus and Russia, the article discusses the political economy of censorship in the everyday functioning of contemporary authoritarianism. Combining the 'new censorship' paradigm of critical sociology and studies of post-Soviet authoritarian regimes, this study identifies and discusses structural, invisible or constitutive censorship. While the visible, formal and openly repressive mechanisms of political censorship are formally prohibited and play a minor role, actual constraints on the expression of protest take different shapes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines the social movement of ethnic minorities in defence of republican state languages in ethnic regions of the Russian Federation in the context of politics of fear. In particular, the article focuses on how the repressive context shapes this social mobilisation both in offline and online domains. The article offers a detailed description of responsive as well as pre-emptive and visible as well as covert repressions aimed at ethnic activists and explains how these repressive practices change the nature of dissent, pushing it online and thus inadvertently leading to the development of grassroots activism. It also suggests that the repressive turn in Russia started long before the poisoning of Aleksei Naval'nyi in August 2020. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Why does Russia seem simultaneously powerful and weak? This article finds the answer in a geopolitical analysis of the structural incentives for and impediments to Russian alliance policy that vary across regions in ways that elude realist, liberal and constructivist explanations of Russia's conduct. We demonstrate that those explanations miss fundamental changes in Russia's geographical position after the collapse of the USSR and the emergence of new threats and opportunities. We model the three strategic environments in which Russia acts: its immediate post-Soviet neighbourhood; more distant regions of the Eurasian continent, such as the Middle East and East Asia; and the sphere of global security issues. Building on theories of alliance behaviour, we show how the balance of threats in those strategic environments influences Russia's political and military policies in different regions in ways not captured by dominant theories or the narratives that inform policy debates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scholars report contradictory findings regarding whether citizens trust media in autocracies. Relying on focus group methodology, this study uses Russian television viewers' reception of the Russia–Ukraine conflict to investigate media perception in an autocracy. It argues that citizens in non-democracies lack the opportunities, motivation and tools to substantively process news. When perceiving news, they express both critical and supportive reactions towards the regime without integrating them into coherent views and thus support authoritarian equilibrium by being unable to articulate consistent opinions. This argument helps to explain the paradoxes of media (dis)trust and clarifies the process of media perception in authoritarian political systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Russia has enlisted the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) and instrumentalised it as part of what can be described as a dynamic 'soft-power offensive'. Its aim is to consolidate hierarchical power as a means to insulate an emerging Kremlin-centric political order and, subsequently, reassert its hegemonic influence over its periphery. This article argues that a strategy of using the Orthodox Church as a means of soft power is being deployed to bolster the realisation of this hegemony and, where possible, it aims to align potential subordinates' interests with those of Moscow via the Christian Orthodox Church. More specifically, this article addresses the deployment of a Christian Orthodox Subordination Strategy (COSS) and its effects in Moldova and Ukraine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the factors that have contributed to the recent divestment of three 'flagship' Nordic investors from the Russian agricultural sector. These factors include corruption, pressure from regional administrations and the economic downswing arising from geopolitical tensions related to the Russian annexation of Crimea. The companies all sought to project calm as geopolitical tensions rose. This calm, however, belied a concern for the impact of the crisis on corporate operations. While the companies were affected by the geopolitical crisis, they had all been experiencing prior difficulties, and it is argued here that the Crimean crisis was only one factor, among others, leading to the divestments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay re-evaluates the history of Tajikistan's close security and military links to Russia and the influence of this relationship on Tajikistan's sovereignty. By analysing Tajikistan's security services during the period of Soviet collapse, it suggests that the basic contours of these links can be observed developing in the early 1990s. Following the end of the Tajik Civil War (1992–1997), moreover, these links have only grown, leading to a current situation in which Tajikistan's and Russia's security services operate in close coordination. As a result, the Tajik state remains bound in a semblance of a centre–periphery relationship not dissimilar from what it experienced before 1991. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the main trends in the Russian business press in comparison with international practices. Such trends include commercialisation, differentiation of products and professionalisation. To achieve a coherent view, the market is viewed from a structural perspective and from the perspective of acting business journalists. This article demonstrates that certain trends in the Russian business press make it resemble other media systems in market economies despite the presence of significant differences. The analysis consists of a study of the business media market structures and interpretations of local and international practices as described by business journalists in Kommersant and Vedomosti newspapers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) is a regional association comprised of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia. The EAEU is a highly asymmetrical entity with a single dominant power. It is also one of the most deeply integrated and densely institutionalised regional associations. This article demonstrates that although the dominant power retains the ability to disregard constraints imposed on it, smaller partners can exert more leverage in this context than most observers realise. The analysis of the dense institutional framework within the EAEU demonstrates how smaller states can exercise leverage in their asymmetrical relations with Russia and how binding commitments, voice opportunities and multilateralisation can trump material inferiority. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Holidays can unite a population under the regime's national narrative, thereby enhancing regime support. In Russia, there are all-Russia holidays and regional holidays, leading to potential variation in their nation-building capacity. Using media coverage and observations from fieldwork in Tatarstan (2014, 2016) and Karelia (2015–2016), I compare how regional governments, public figures, and citizens support and celebrate holidays in each case. When Moscow has firm control over the form and message of the spectacles across the regions, holidays can be an effective nation-building tool. When divergent narratives arise, holidays become less effective and provide openings for competitive nation-building. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study analyses official Russian foreign policy discourses to contribute to our understanding of how Russia portrays its role in world politics and vis-à-vis neighbouring states. Building on previous studies, we offer a new, comprehensive analysis of Foreign Policy Concepts and the annual Presidential Address to the Federal Assembly during President Vladimir Putin's third term (2012–2018). By systematically coding these documents, counting references to particular discourses and undertaking a careful interpretation of the texts, we provide insights about three broader discourses related to foreign policy: the world order and sovereignty; civilisation, identity and values; and economics and modernisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

53 Petrov, N., Lipman, M. & Hale, H.E. (2014) ' Three Dilemmas of Hybrid Regime Governance: Russia from Putin to Putin ', Post-Soviet Affairs, 30, 1. 54 Pipes, R. (1974) Russia Under the Old Regime (New York, NY, Scribner). In comparative perspective, Russia is an example of a high-capacity authoritarian state, which exhibits the major features of bad governance, such as lack and/or perversion of the rule of law, rent-seeking, corruption, poor quality of state regulation, widespread public funds abuse, and overall ineffectiveness of government (Gel'man [27], p. 498). Examples include the transformation of government structure after the Soviet collapse in terms of performance of the state apparatus (Huskey [36]), and practices of control and monitoring in law enforcement agencies (Taylor [68]), thus contributing to the use (and to the abuse) of the state agencies and coercive apparatus of post-Soviet states as instruments of Russia's political regime. [Extracted from the article]

This essay is focused on the analysis of several success stories of state-directed developmental projects and programmes in Russia, which are designed and implemented amid conditions of bad governance. I argue that these success stories do not serve as exceptions to the general rules of bad governance but rather confirm its overall tendencies. The prioritisation of state support for successful projects and programmes is related to conspicuous consumption of material and symbolic benefits by the political leadership against the background of mediocre policy outcomes beyond the 'pockets of efficiency' intentionally designed by authorities. The analysis of several success stories related to technological development and the advancement of higher education addresses the questions of why they were short-lived and resulted in diminished returns and/or weak multiplicative effects. Thus, success stories become the other side of the coin for bad governance: these achievements are intertwined with the general trends of governing the state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since 2012, with a view to strengthen the development of strategically important regions, Russia has established several federal agencies responsible for these territories. The essay investigates one of these agencies: the Ministry for the Development of the Far East (Ministerstvo Rossiiskoi Federatsii po razvitiyu Dal'nego Vostoka). We identify two main trade-offs associated with the governance approach used in Russia—between federal power and local knowledge, and between bureaucratic expertise and novel ideas—and examine how the ministry has dealt with these trade-offs and their consequences for the ministry's performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How does centralisation affect public goods provision in Russian municipalities? Drawing on the evidence from 68 interviews with municipal elites in four Russian regions, we demonstrate that, first, centralisation through excessive regulation encourages the provision of a higher quantity of public goods but does not encourage their quality. Short time horizons and haste lower the quality of goods even further. Moreover, centralisation favours municipalities with higher state capacity. Finally, risk-averse behaviour by officials leads to a lower quality of public goods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Russian authorities have been increasingly willing to facilitate apolitical collective action to deal with day-to-day problems. A case in point is community self-organisation, known as 'territorial self-management' (TSM), supported by local administrations through cost-sharing and other means. We use a unique dataset on TSM in the city of Kirov to study the causes and consequences of this phenomenon. TSM accommodates a mix of cultural traits in a given society, combining social capital and awareness of public problems with a scepticism about political participation and a preference for government patronage. TSM increases approval of local government in the supported communities but can also spark broader collective action that restores the agency relation between society and government. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay considers how the tensions inherent to authoritarian politics structure urban governance in the city of Moscow. The focus here is on urban development policy and the housing renovation programme introduced in 2017. The essay demonstrates a flexible governance arrangement that responds to the interests and ideas of the country's leadership and involves city-level bureaucratic decision-making, the accommodation of economic interests and expert opinion, and consultations with the public. Such consultations have recently become more significant because of intensive protests paired with the city administration's belief in participatory urban governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Does electoral support affect the quality of public goods provision? In this study, we explore the variety of governance patterns on the level of Russian municipalities from 2012 to 2018. We estimate the effects of budget autonomy and electoral loyalty during federal elections on public goods provision and explore whether elected heads provide better services. Our findings suggest that since elected heads have limited capacity to provide better services, electoral loyalty does not uniformly result in improved public goods provision in municipalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is claimed that authoritarian regimes actively export their political systems. An alternative explanation maintains that authoritarian states are primarily concerned with geopolitical interests. Both explanations can produce coherent narratives. This article adjudicates among them by looking at Russia's relations with Transnistria, South Ossetia and Abkhazia. In all three unrecognised states Moscow could dictate the outcome of elections but has, increasingly, abstained from interference. These client states are utterly dependent on Russia's patronage and with its geopolitical interests ensured, Russia appears willing to grant them wide latitude. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Russia's 2018 presidential election campaign was accompanied by a new round of strategies of socio-economic development. This article analyses these documents from the perspective of the 'politics of expertise' defining the relations between the political regime and policy experts. The analysis draws on authoritarian politics and public policy literatures. The article argues that a 'hollow paradigm' approach to the politics of expertise has emerged in response to the dilemmas of authoritarian governance. While the substantive, ideational element of this paradigm is vague, its procedural, expert community-binding element is strong. The analysis contributes to the understanding of the politics surrounding the writing of strategic plans, the role of policy ideas and state–society relations in contemporary Russia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Italy is the second largest market for Russian gas in the EU, and Italy–Russia energy relations stretch back to the Cold War period. By developing an original framework for the study of the politics of producer–consumer cooperation based on an international political economy approach and the analytical concept of forms of state, this article examines the origins, evolution and current features of Italy–Russia dyadic energy relations. This analysis, in turn, offers an important contribution to the study of EU–Russia relations and sheds light on the reconfiguration of East–West gas interdependence within the context of the integration and liberalisation of the EU energy sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]