Federalism and Local Politics in Russia

Local self-government in Russia 229Law) made extensive use of the ‘shared legislative powers’, by laying downdetailed regulations that left only scarce legislative scope and leeway to theFederal Subjects. The copious use made by the Federal Government of its‘shared legislative powers’ (at the cost of the Federal Subjects) has beencriticized as ‘excessive’ and ‘exceeding constitutional limits’. 173 Intergovernmental setting and the territorial structure of LSG3.1 LSG as a self-standing (non-state?) levelThe USSR Law on LSG of 5 April 1990 was, as already highlighted, anunprecedented move, to break away from the Soviet doctrine of the ‘unity ofthe State’ and to recognize LSG as a self-standing political and administrativelevel within the state’s inter-organizational setting. In Article 12 the1993 Constitution gave conspicuous expression of the notion that, in thesubsequently much-quoted formulation, ‘the organs of LSG are not part ofthe organization of state organs’. 18 In Article 14.5 of the 1995 Federal Lawthis provision was literally adopted and the stipulation was added that theconduct of LSG functions by state authorities was not permitted.Not surprisingly the idea to assign the LSG level a status distinct andseparate from the State evoked a lively conceptual (and, in its core, political)debate. On the one hand, the cities and their representatives as well as manyacademics hailed Article 12 of the Federal Constitution as legitimating LSGand its autonomy, 19 and placing local self-government within the ‘non-state’and ‘societal’ spheres. 20 Such a view was reminiscent of that held during theera of the ‘zemstvos’ in the late nineteenth century. 21 On the other hand, theconcept was criticized by some as ushering in ‘an artificial distinctionbetween two power channels’, 22 and as conjuring up the risk of the Statebecoming ‘ungovernable’.The 1995 Federal Law has literally adopted this constitutional provision(in Article 14. 5) and emphatically added that the conduct of LSG functionsby State authorities was ‘not admissible’. The 2003 Federal Law continues toadopt Article 12 of the Federal Constitution (in Article 34.4). Hence, thecurrent legislation upholds the bold claim (and vision) that LSG is ‘not partof the State administration’.In the international comparative debate a conceptual distinction has beenmade between ‘separationist’ and ‘integrationist’ models of local government.23 While the former hints at a conceptual and institutional ‘separation’between the local and the State levels, the latter views local authorities asbeing institutionally linked with, and ‘integrated’ into, State structures.Taken at face value, the conceptual claim to the ‘non-State’ status of LSGenvisaged in Article 12 of the Russian Constitution could well be ranked as a‘separationist’ scheme. However, as will be shown below, as a result of the‘dual function’ scheme (Article 132.2 of the Federal Constitution) underwhich the local authorities may be put in charge of carrying out tasks