Is the Russian federation becoming more democratic? Moscow‐regional relations and the development of the post‐Soviet Russian State

This article addresses the condition of Russian democracy by focusing on the developing political relations between the central government and regional governments. A situation of profound ambivalence and ambiguity has evolved since ratification of the Russian Federation Constitution in December 1993. Regional governments have found it possible to gain a degree of political autonomy uncharacteristic of Russia's long historical experience, yet increasingly in line with global trends toward decentralization of governmental authority. Two political patterns in the current Russian Federation are explored, both of them promising broad and enduring significance. First, the political ambiguity of relations between the national government and regional authorities may provide the context in which divided government serves to enable democracy, despite the appearance of authoritarian rule in many regions themselves. Second, the nature of the interaction between the centre and regional authorities may be breaking new ground, in terms of flexible solutions to intra‐state relations among different levels of government. Because certain aspects of centre‐regional relations in the Russian Federation replicate comparable issues elsewhere (particularly regarding the ethnic‐territorial dimension of politics), the Federation's approaches and solutions to this aspect of state‐formation could suggest useful lessons for other parts of the world.     

Opportunities Beckon

<正>Yantai makes a name for itself along the Belt and Road In 2013,Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed the Belt and Road Initiative,comprising the development plans of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-Century     

The Controversy Over Western Measures of Soviet Defense Expenditures

A retired CIA analyst of the Soviet economy presents a comprehensive and in-depth comparison of diverse Western estimates of the size and rate of growth of Soviet military expenditures from the mid-1950s through 1990. Analyzing the explicit criteria and implicit assumptions that underlay the compilation of these estimates, the author evaluates the relative veracity of divergent claims. The article then examines alternative claims about the impact of Gorbachev and giasnost' on our understanding of Soviet defense expenditures, and explores the extent to which Soviet leaders themselves knew how much they were spending in this area. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: P27, P24, P52.