Busygina Irina

Davis Center at Harvard University

The 2021 urban political protests in Russia in support of Alexei Navalny have swept the country, beginning in the Far East and reaching Moscow. They, however, displayed large variation in the number of protesters taking to the streets in the country’s regional capitals. While the immediate driver of urban protests is usually a political event or a...

In authoritarian Russia, during the COVID-19 crisis the federal center unilaterally shifted the costs of unpopular anti-pandemic measures onto the regions. By applying the principal–agent theory to the Russian case, we show that, faced with the delegated task of combating the pandemic, agents (regional governors) shirked: using informational asymme...

The COVID-19 crisis has provided an opportunity to re-evaluate how the federal relations work in authoritarian Russia. In particular, the crisis has confirmed that the regional governors are an integral part of maintaining the stability of the non-democratic regime. Since the whole system and thus, the political careers of the incumbent governors d...

The COVID -19 crisis has provided an opportunity to re-evaluate how the federal relations work in authoritarian Russia. In particular, the crisis has confirmed that the regional governors are an integral part of maintaining the stability of the non-democratic regime. Since the whole system and thus, the political careers of the incumbent governors...

In this article, we explore the inherent trade-offs and inconsistencies of Russia’s policies toward the post-Soviet space. We argue that attempts to rebuild an image of Russia as a “great power” have actually led to a reduction of Russian influence in the post-Soviet region. The more Russia acted as a “Great Power,” the less credible was its promis...

Scholars of international relations and Russian politics actively debate whether some "grand strategy" underpins Russian foreign policy choices in the Putin era. For instance, prominent American military historian Williamson Murray argues that President Vladimir Putin has proven himself a masterful tactician who "maneuvers in the present with littl...

The Russian leadership promotes a vision of a multipolar world where major powers must have their own “zones of influence.” This implies that other “great powers” have to recognize Moscow’s sphere of dominance over the post-Soviet realm. It also makes Russia’s neighbors increasingly reluctant to delegate their sovereignty to institutions of regiona...

One of the important tasks in the study of international politics today is the elaboration and empirical verification of new theoretical models for the coexistence of several regional leadership projects, simultaneously implemented by various countries and international organizations. Until now, the existing models, as a rule, have described this k...

Russian membership in the Council of Europe is a function of two threats: isolation internationally and too much democratization/liberalization domestically. These concerns conditioned Russia’s halcyon first decade of membership. Looking forward, however, the obligations of membership challenge Vladimir Putin’s limited interest in further domestic...

The use of populist ideology can be an important element of the survival strategy for authoritarian leaders being an important tool for regime stabilization. The incentives for using populist ideology are shaping in response to a current combination of a threat to incumbent’s rule. As the examples of Putin and Nazarbayev, ruling in neighbouring aut...

Russia is not, at the time of this writing, a real federation. This is the only conclusion that can be drawn from the institutions that structure the relations among the country’s 85 regions and the federal centre in Moscow, and from the low degree of political and economic autonomy enjoyed by the regions. Of course, given the size of its territory...

Strong institutions and good governance are instrumental for success in the global economy. While the quality of national governance has positive effect on a country's economic performance, it is not a necessary condition. Poor governance can be offset with the country's comparative advantages; however, such advantages are likely to be geographical...

Decisions on decentralization versus centralization come as a result of strategic choices made by politicians after weighing their costs and benefits. In authoritarian regimes, the highest-priority political task is that of restraining political competition and securing power in the hands of the incumbent. This task incentivizes politicians to rest...

For any great power, neighboring countries are spaces that attract attention mainly when they try to extend their influence beyond their own territories. At the same time, great powers use neighboring countries as security buffers. However, there are fundamental differences between the neighborhood strategies of the two powers. For Russia building...

Examining Russia-EU relations in terms of the forms and types of power tools they use, this book argues that the deteriorating relations between Russia and the EU lie in the deep differences in their preferences for the international status quo. These different approaches, combined with economic interdependence and geographic proximity, means both...

This article gives an overview of small power problem focusing on the behav­iour of small power states within coalitions and their proneness to free riding. To pursue an independent agenda and increase their significance within large associa­tions, the authors argue, small powers tend to create ‘coalitions within coalitions’, essentially acting as...

The article examines the internal borders of the Russian Federation as a way of gaining greater understanding of the functioning of Russian federalism. With its huge territorial expanse, Russia seeks to achieve a dominant position in Eurasia. The mode of organization of Russian space can either facilitate or hinder this ambition. Formally Russia is...

Today state-building processes go on in many parts of the world. In this article I look at Russia’s political development through the prism of state-building, with a focus on Putin’s state-building strategy and the factors that have made its realization possible. I argue that throughout the duration of his reign Putin distinguished himself as a vig...

The article examines the internal borders of the Russian Federation as a way of gaining greater understanding of how federations work, and what defines them. Russia is formally a federation, but the practices of centre-regional relations do not correspond with classical models of federalism. Analyzing whether the internal borders of the federation...

After the collapse of theSoviet Unionand the raise of new independent states a question of choosing the format of center-regions relationship became crucial. Political elites ofRussiaandKazakhstanmade completely different choices:Russia— in favor of a federal state, whereasKazakhstansupported the idea of a unitary state. These decisions were made m...

The Russian policy on critical infrastructure protection was outlined in the early 2000s and has been consolidated in recent years as a part of the national security strategy. This policy is evolving against a background composed of an uneasy combination of factors: the degeneration of infrastructures critical for the country's economic and social...

Most scholars agree that strong institutions and better governance are instrumental for success in the global economy. However some political regimes fail to improve governance but attract significant volume of foreign direct investments and demonstrate high rates of economic growth. We argue that when quality of national governance low, investment...

A government-proclaimed desire to promote technological innovation and boost economic growth in Russia implies the need for the state to take an active role in the economy and to provide the right stimuli and guarantees for investors. Since under its current political regime the Russian state lacks trust and credibility, and since the actions of th...

Government-proclaimed desire to promote technological innovations and boost economic growth in Russia implies the need for the state to take an active role in economy and to provide the right stimuli and guarantees for investors. Since the Russian state under the current political regime lacks trust and credibility, and since the actions of the sta...

This paper discusses the political risks and constraints associated with democratic reforms (currently labeled in Russia as political modernization) which arise due to Russia’s size, diversity of social, political and economic conditions and, most importantly, its federal constitutional structure. We argue that the two principles, democracy and fed...

This article examines the regional consequences of the jour scenarios presented by Melville and Timofeev in "Russia 20210." This analysis is based on discussions with experts in five of Russia's regions.

In the contemporary policy debate on the EU's neighbourhood, grand designs are transforming into more pragmatic considerations. This book examines regional cooperation among the countries in Europe's northern neighbourhood, with an emphasis on the pitfalls and successes of engaging Russia. Drawing from the experiences of northern partnerships, the...

One of the main trends shaping the character of the contemporary international relations system is the increasing role of sub-national territorial units (regions). Nation states tend to take into account the opinions of their territorial units when elaborating their national external relations policy while from the other side their decisions are ev...

Because society must be structured spatially, it cannot avoid the need for geographic knowledge of various kinds. As a result, it requires geography as one means of interpreting and perceiving the world. It is no accident that the English phrase "to take place" also means "to occur" or "to happen." If something is to happen, it must take place. The...

Research Note

Regionalism is timely once again; today it is regarded as a counterweight to any kind of monotony or uniformity. It is a response to the leveling tendencies of the center, whether this is a nation-state or a supranational organization—for example, the European Union. Identity, regional identity included, is becoming a key factor in the debates abou...

Postmodernism as a phenomenon of culture as a whole, one that, moreover, allows itself to be interpreted in the broadest way, is still a fresh idea for Moscow, although in the West interest in it has almost vanished. Therefore, a faint hope remains that [David] Harvey's splendid book The Condition of Postmodernity will nonetheless be translated int...

This article examines the relationship between heads of regional administrations (governors) and the federal government in Russia since 1992. It looks at the methods with which governors have enhanced their powers vis-a-vis Moscow and at the policies of the federal authorities aimed at preserving some form of control over regional officials. The ar...

From the outset, the creation of administrative mechanisms capable of ensuring uniformity of state policy throughout the country's territory has been a top priority for the Russian federal government. One such mechanism has been the institution of presidential representatives [predstaviteli prezidenta], established immediately after the August 1991...

Contemporary Russia operating at post-Soviet space is regional power with global ambitions. The foreign policy priorities of the country have changed drastically: from the county plunged in crises those external course has been inconsistent with main orientation to the West during 90ties, Russia has turned into regional power with extremely pragmat...