The scenarios for consolidation of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation based on the economic macro-regions

Abstract

The subject of this research is the matters of reforming the federal structure of Russia in the aspect of unification and consolidation of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation that are under discussion in the current political discourse. The object this research is the transformation of the constituent structure of the Russian Federation based on the strategy of spatial development of Russia, federal legislative acts that laid the groundwork for the unification process, primarily the Federal Constitutional Law “On the Procedure of Admission into the Russian Federation and Creation of a New Constituent Entity". The authors explore such aspects of the topic as the results of unification processes of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation of 2003-2008, gaps in their legislative regulation, political errors and risks, including of ethnic nature, which impeded planned consolidation of the constituent structure of the Russian Federation, as well as strategy for the future unification processes. The novelty of the author's position is that the unification processes scenarios of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation are founded on the declared by the government “Strategy of Spatial Development of the Russian Federation until 2025”. The research methodology employs comprehensive interdisciplinary political, economic and legal approach. The drawn conclusions are related to the description of these scenarios, determination of the constitutional legal status of the new consolidated entity formed at the premises on an economic macroregion, considering such significant characteristics of the macroregion, as the number of constituent entities of the Russian Federation therein, size of their territories, population density, and peculiarities of the ethnic composition. It is proposed to fill the gaps in determination of the status of a constituent entity that ceased to exist as such and became a part of the consolidated entity by introducing amendments to the federal constitutional and current legislation without changing the fundamentals of the Constitution of the Russian Federation.