Carnegie Moscow Center
The appointment of Khloponin as envoy for the new North Caucasus Federal District is an attempt by Moscow to tackle growing instability in the region. But while Khloponin has strong business credentials, he lacks experience in federal governance.
The first round of the Ukrainian presidential election brought no particular surprises. Regardless of who wins in the second round, Russian-Ukrainian relations will get a positive new boost.
Medvedev’s recent gubernatorial nominations demonstrate both the Kremlin’s support for existing governors who have supported regime policies in the past as well as a new model for nominations that fills gubernatorial posts with members of the local political elite.
A new procedure in Russia’s gubernatorial elections that allows the party dominating the regional legislature to nominate gubernatorial candidates only perpetuates the worst problems of the previous system of appointments.
Although Prime Minister Putin’s eighth annual call-in show was much livelier than the typical state television coverage of the government’s public policy, it will take much more than a yearly show to establish a genuine two-way dialogue between the government and the people.
President Medvedev's recent annual address reveals a political style characterized by sharp and wide-ranging criticisms, rhetorical flourishes, and the absence of a bridge between his strategic plans and his concrete proposals.
A new system has been implemented for naming the candidate for a gubernatorial post in Russia; the fate of 10 percent of the governors hangs in the balance.
Municipal elections held in Russia on October 11 proved that most Russian voters seem to feel that elections have no direct bearing on their lives and that the authorities feel no impetus to institute change in the current Russian party system.
Under Russian President Medvedev, the Kremlin’s efforts to develop and execute concrete solutions to Russia’s many challenges have been replaced by a constant stream of polemical sound bites and vague slogans.
Scientific and technological progress will not, on their own, lead to improvements in the political realm. The economy cannot be effective if the political system is insufficiently free.