Publication

Why did Russia change the way it conducts regional elections after President Putin’s formal return to power in 2012? According to this paper, permitting 1) the direct election of governors again, and 2) the reappearance a more 'fluid' political system both represent a calculated move on the Kremlin's part. Basically, not only does it want to spread collective responsibility for the economic and political ills now besetting Russia, it also wants to use 'reform' as an alternative to true democratic elections and the alternation of power. The latter two processes, the Putin regime fears, would eventually undermine the legitimacy of the current political system.