Russian Federalism and Local Self-Government: Correlation Trends and Development Prospects

Abstract

The issues of correlation and development of Russian federalism and local self-government in the conditions of building and strengthening a unified system of state power in modern Russia are considered. Based on the analysis of the current legislation and practice of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation, the "main" trends in the development of local self-government in the conditions of the constant development of Russian federalism and the building of a unified system of public power in Russia are revealed. It is shown that the federal foundations of the formation of the legal framework for the organization of local self-government are marked by a significant "tilt" towards the provision by the federal legislator to the regional authorities of a broad degree of independence in determining the "normative" features of the functioning of local self-government on the territory of the subject of the Russian Federation. The necessity of a more attentive attitude to the "embedding" of municipal power into the vertical of a unified system of public power, preserving the importance and necessary independence of local self-government in the system of formation and development of federal relations at the present stage of our state is proved. Otherwise, we may lose the identity of the local level of government not only in the system of state power, but also in the system of the Russian federalism model that has been established for more than 30 years.