The Russian subnational executives as institutional veto players

Abstract:

This study discusses the ability of subnational heads of government to constrain the power of the federal government in the Russian Federation. The intention is to examine under which conditions regional executives have operated since the beginning of the 1990s. The study also takes a comparative approach by examining the formal institutional strength of subnational executives in 24 other contemporary federal states. The Russian executives have had potential for strong leadership at the regional level and moderate abilities to exercise influence at the parliamentary arena, while the regions have been allocated with few constitutional powers.