Integrating Governor Posts Into the Federal Bureaucratic Structure: Resignation and Post-Tenure Careers of Governors in Russia

Abstract

Authoritarian leaders incorporate key subnational posts into state bureaucratic structures to consolidate their regimes. Exploiting a comprehensive dataset of post-tenure careers of governors in Russia, this study demonstrates that under the centralisation reforms of the Putin presidency, governors have left their posts at the discretion of the federal government. In the 2010s, outgoing governors frequently faced criminal charges. At the same time, an increasing number of governors have been promoted to federal government posts, and regional posts have been incorporated into the federal administrative structure through a combination of tight control and promotions.