Federalism and Local Politics in Russia

Balance in local government reform 257why smaller settlements are willing to transfer authority to the district level.While federal and regional authorities are devoted to training local officials,those who perform well are often enticed out of municipal government toregional administration or the private sector. Increased pay scales and realauthority might encourage more officials to continue their employment inlocal governments, but these changes are not on the immediate horizon. It isalso clear that a rotation of cadres is also re-emerging, where effectiveadministrators at one level are promoted to higher positions, even from onelocal government to another. So, for example, the mayor of Tobolsk, EvgeniiKuivshev, was recently approved as the new head of the Tyumen' CityAdministration. 34 Such lateral moves, from one local government to another(with greater stature), will likely become more common with the contractingof city managers. It also threatens to undermine the concept of local selfgovernment,where a local community resolves its own concerns rather thanbe managed by a professional staff from elsewhere.A fourth concern is with the role of mayors in the new system of localgovernment. One of the foundations of the municipal revolution of the 1990swas the assertion of local accountability of mayors and an end to the Sovietprinciple of ‘dual subordination’. Darrell Slider has highlighted the subsequentconflict between governors and mayors throughout the 1990s, andthe various federal efforts to resolve the conflict. 35 The new law not onlyprovides two ways to elect a mayor, but also presents two very different typesof mayor. The most common structure adopted in Russia has been theemergence of a contracted city manager to lead the administration, and toresurrect the principle of dual subordination. Such an office is promoted byIgor Kokin as a more effective way to employ experts and qualified personnel,smooth out administration and executive–legislation relations, andovercome deficiencies such as weak local political and legal cultures, andlimited opportunities for the training of professionals. 36 Such a change, ofcourse, also serves to tighten vertical administration and weaken localaccountability. At the same time, elected mayors enjoy far less local authority.These changes come at a time when the federal government appears tohave targeted elected mayors who continue to lead local administrations.Mayors can now be more easily removed from office with legal cause,although some allegations in 2007 appear to be the result of politicalmachinations rather than the pursuit of justice. It is interesting to note thatmany of the mayors threatened with dismissal or charged with criminalconduct are those who are in conflict with governors or federal agencies. 37 Anotorious letter dated 18 November 2006 from the presidential administrationto the General Procurator of the Russian Federation, Yuri Chaike,included a list of five mayors from each of the seven federal districts. Theletter vaguely accused each of activities unbefitting their office, as alleged inthe Russian media. Criminal charges were laid against a number of those onthe list, although the line between real criminal conduct and political oppositionseems to be quite blurred. 38 While there are too many local factors in