Russian Regime Research Articles

Post-Soviet Space in Russian-American Relations (First Quarter of the 21st Century)

This publication examines the policy of Russia and the United States in the post-Soviet space in the first two decades of the 21st century. The materials were information sources on the foreign policy of the two countries, as well as research by Russian and Western authors using general scientific and special historical methods. The purpose of the article is to examine the role and place of the post-Soviet space in Russian-American relations in the 21st century. In the 21st century, the post-Soviet space has become an arena of geopolitical rivalry between Russia and the United States. This happened due to the cardinal divergence of the national interests of Moscow and Washington in the region. The United States decided to reformat the post-Soviet space, finally ousting the Russian Federation with the prospect of changing the political regime in Russia itself. The realization of this fact by the Kremlin has led to the strengthening, to the best of its ability, of Russian opposition to American penetration into the region. Consequently, in the 21st century, the post-Soviet space has become one of the irritants of Russian-American relations.

Die Möglichkeit einer rechtsstaatlichen Ordnung in Russland – die soziale Norm von der Herrschaft des Rechts und der Mythos des Rechtsnihilismus in Russland

The article deals with the problem of creating a stable order in Russia based on the rule of law. So far, all efforts to create it have failed. The instability of the rule of law in Russia is explained by the fact that attempts to create such a regime were limited to infrastructure reforms and modern proposals to reform the legal and political systems are reduced to infrastructure 2 changes. The author shows that despite the importance of infrastructure, the main reason for the instability of the rule of law in Russia is the legal consciousness of citizens. At the beginning of the XXI century, the concept of “social norm of the rule of law” was introduced in scholarly debates and it was shown that the presence of this social norm in their legal consciousness is crucial for the observance of laws by members of the community. The article builds a model of legal consciousness of Russian citizens and shows that they do not have this social norm. But contrary to popular opinion, Russian citizens are not legal nihilists, but legal utilitarians. Accordingly, the stability of the rule of law regime in Russia can be achieved if conditions are created for the emergence of a social norm of the rule of law in the legal consciousness of Russian citizens. Three ways of creating such conditions are considered and it is shown that, contrary to popular opinion, such a social norm can appear quite quickly. The practical possibility of transformation of the Russian legal system is shown, based on the most realistic of these three methods.

Ontological Aspects of the russia-Ukraine War

The article gives an insight into the political nature, causes, motivations of the parties, and the essence of the russia-Ukraine war. The author considers the ideological preconditions, reasons and consequences of the russian armed aggression against Ukraine, as well as the evolution of political and security doctrines of the ruling regime in russia. The author’s theoretical discourse, which formulates the political nature, essence, causes and peculiarities of this war, is based on the provisions of the classic military theory. The fundamental ideas are gaining new relevance in the context of hybrid war with the simultaneous presence of elements and factors of military confrontation of several successive generations of warfare. It is argued that this war is the result of the inevitable collision of two opposite incompatible historical paradigms regarding the further development of Ukraine and the entire post-Soviet space. The author clearly states the peculiarities of the russian-Ukrainian war. Keywords: hybrid war, russia’s armed aggression, genocide, state terrorism, ruscism, russian world, military escalation.

Legal Regulation of Military Captivity in Western Countries (17th–18th Centuries)

Legal regulation of military captivity in Western countries in the 17th–18th has hardly ever become the subject of special historical and legal research. Meanwhile, such a study seems appropriate, as it might expand our under-standing of Russia's place in the world in the early Modern era. This has predetermined the main purpose of this study – to fill the designated historiographical gap. In the course of achieving this goal, a set of docu-ments, monographs and articles published in Europe and the USA were studied. A system of regulatory legal acts regulating various aspects of military captivity was identified and structured. The content of each of the elements of the system was analyzed. It was found that the era in question was marked by the appearance of the first interstate treaties and legal framework of national legislation on prisoners of war, as well as other innovations. In order to further investigate the topic, it is proposed to expand its source base by introducing documents from foreign archives into scientific circulation, as well as to focus on a comparative analysis of military captivity regimes in Russia and Western countries.

ОПЫТ ИССЛЕДОВАНИЯ ОТКРЫТОСТИ ИНСТИТУТА РЕГИОНАЛЬНОГО ПАРЛАМЕНТАРИЗМА В РОССИИ

The article presents the author‘s approach to assessing the democracy of regional political regimes in Russia by analyzing the openness of legislative (representative) state authorities of the subjects of the Federation. A broad interpretation of the openness of the regional parliament is given, including the openness of decision-making process, legislative work, feedback from citizens, social accessibility of parliament, guarantees of equality of parliamentary parties on regional television, radio and the internal openness of parliament. The article presents the author‘s methodology for assessing the openness of regional parliaments, based on a comparison of their practices with the identifi practices of openness of the Federal Assembly, the totality of which the author proposes to consider as reference for the current level of political development of the country. The results of the calculations of the level of openness are analyzed both in criteria and in spatial dimensions. A comparison of the rating of regions by this indicator in 2020 and 2021 indicates a gradual increase in the openness of regional parliaments. At the same time, the author comes to the conclusion that the results obtained do not allow us to speak about a high level of openness of regional legislatures, since most of them demonstrate average indicators. The leaders of openness were also identifi who received maximum points, but still lag behind the level of openness of the Federal Assembly. At the same time, they demonstrate maximum performance in the areas of political openness, which allows us to speak of them as parliaments open to their voters.

КЛЮЧОВІ ФАКТОРИ ЕСКАЛАЦІЇ БЕЗПЕКОВОЇ СИТУАЦІЇ В СХІДНІЙ ЄВРОПІ ТА ЗАГРОЗИ ДЕРЖАВНИМ ІНТЕРЕСАМ УКРАЇНИ

The article reveals the main patterns and problems that led to the violation of international security and the beginning of military aggression against Ukraine. It assesses domestic and foreign policy factors that are approaching escalation, including inconsistencies in NATO’s approach to Eastern European enlargement, underestimation of the Kremlin’s neo-imperialist revanchist ambitions, short-sighted EU energy policy for their practical implementation, the military path along with economic blackmail. In some places, the prevalence of individual intentions of individual political forces in the struggle for the electorate put in the background the strategic issue of defending national interests. The weakness of the system of exercising state power leads to a decrease in the country’s defense potential and neglect of real threats, which took place in Ukraine until 2014. The study concludes that the necessary vector of key actors is needed to remedy the current situation, as the threat from Russia is becoming a permanent to regional stability and international security. As the existing mechanisms for resolving security challenges have not proved successful in protecting non-NATO countries, Allies are obliged to work towards developing practical security guarantees for Ukraine and, in the long run, other countries in the post-Soviet space that do not have intentions to be in the orbit of the Kremlin. A potential security document cannot be a formalized memorandum without a detailed procedure for dealing with a critical situation and should include preventive response mechanisms. In the worst case, the situation in Eastern Europe will not be balanced. Until the Kremlin feels the ability of the collective West to respond to the Russian regime’s «crossing the red line» and sees a lack of full consolidation of NATO countries, attempts to gain control of Ukraine will continue and are likely to extend to Central Asia, Belarus and Belarus. Europe and the United States must understand that Russian aggression is not a situational display, but a directed approach to achieving military-political goals, the conditions for which have been formed over the years.

Post Post-Sovjet, stil og opprør: Symbolikk og subversiv nasjonalisme i Gosja Rubtsjinskijs «nye Russland»

Abstract: Post Post-Soviet, style and rebellion: Symbolism and subversive nationalism in Gosha Rubchinskiy’s ‘new Russia’This article explores the resonance enjoyed by streetwear designer Gosha Rubchinskiy among young Russians, and the extensive network that has emerged under his wings and refers to itself as ‘the new Russia’. Analysis of Rubchinskiy’s work, with Dick Hebdige’s semiotic approach as the epistemological context, supplemented by insights from Simon Reynolds, Michel Foucault and Michel Maffesoli, reveals a continuous deconstruction of the Russian regime’s hegemonic narrative of Russianness – so-called ‘Putinism’. At the same time, Rubchinskiy constructs a countercultural form of Russian national belonging, one with room to accommodate those who feel alienated by mainstream Russian nationalism. From a social science perspective, a countercultural inclusive nation-building project is in itself a paradox – so how are we to understand Gosha Rubchinskiy’s ‘new Russia’?

The Impact of the War in Ukraine on the Indigenous Small-numbered Peoples’ Rights in Russia

This article discusses how the war in Ukraine, started by Russia, impacts the lives of Russian Indigenous small-numbered peoples. First, one can observe Russia’s growing disregard for its international legal obligations. Second, the Russian State is continuously introducing new sanctions against persons and organizations who do not support the Russian regime. Third, the pressure on Indigenous peoples’ representatives is increasing. Fourth, a significant number of members of Indigenous small-numbered peoples actively participate in the war due to, inter alia, socio-economic problems and lack of reliable and objective information about it. Fifth, there is a decline in international cooperation with the Indigenous small-numbered peoples of Russia. Finally, it is visible that the role of Indigenous peoples, including Russian Indigenous peoples, in international decision-making changes.

Military actions and activities of the Russian and Austrian administrations in Pokuttya in 1914-1915

The run of military operations on the one of the strips of the Eastern front – Pokuttya as a part of the Western Ukrainian land territory is studied in the article. The preconditions of the war are shown by the author; the characteristic features of the military mobilization of the Austrian and Hungarian army on the territory of Pokuttya on the eve and at the beginning of the war are defined; the peculiarities of the Russian regime formation on the land are revealed; not simple relations between the occupying authority and the local population are traced.The eve and beginning of the World War I showed the escalation of mass political hysteria on the part of the Austro-Hungarian authorities. The official authorities were prejudiced against the population of the region, accusing it of Russophilia. At the same time, local authorities tried to demonstrate their loyalty to the Austrian emperor by holding a series of «patriotic» events.The capture of Pokuttya by the Russians in the autumn of 1914 was accompanied by the requisition of inventory and property, the persecution of representatives of the Ukrainian national movement and residents of Jewish nationality, and the brutality of Russian Cossack units. The hostilities of 1915 showed the weakness of the positions of Russian troops in Pokuttya. In some parts of the front, the positions of the warring parties often changed, which, in turn, depleted the material resources of the inhabitants of the region. In the early summer of 1915, Austrian troops liberated Pokuttya for a time. However, the events of 1916 will show that the front in the territory of Eastern Galicia will «come to life» and this will lead to a brutal, but short-lived, occupation of Pokuttya by Russian troops.The problem of Russian occupation in the current foreign policy situation is more important for our country than ever, and the occupation practice used on the Crimean peninsula and in Eastern Ukraine has its historical analogies with the period 1914-1915. That is why from the standpoint of protection of state sovereignty, national security, the study of this problem becomes especially relevant.

The Concept of the ‘Living Constitution’ in Russian Constitutional Theory and Practice

Abstract In discussing the concept of the ‘living constitution’ in Russian constitutional theory and practice, this paper shows that the Russian concept of the living constitution differs from U.S. or European approaches to evolutive interpretation. The Russian concept has its roots in Soviet and pre-revolutionary Russian constitutional thinking. It reduces the normative power of the Constitution but allows an interpretation according to changing social conditions and gives the legislator a broad margin of appreciation. Whereas the 1993 Russian constitutional reform had been regarded as a paradigm shift with the intention to break with the past by declaring that the Constitution shall have supreme judicial force and direct effect, the paper also gives answers to the complexity of constitutional change and legal transplants and the role of constitutional theory and practice for the functioning of the current authoritarian regime in Russia.

Transformation of the “Soviet Ideology” in the Discursive Practices of the Russian Government

The article examines the trajectory of changes in the post-Soviet period in the ideological complex, which was called “Soviet ideology” in the “late” USSR. The theoretical and methodological frame work of the analysis consists of the theory of political regimes, as well as elements of the theory of ideologies and the theory of political discourse. The features and peculiarities of the “Soviet ideology” in the conditions of the “post-totalitarian” political regime in the “late” USSR, which led to its weakening and decline after the collapse of the Soviet regime, are investigated. Under the conditions of the post-Soviet political regime in Russia, the “Soviet ideology” disintegrated into an ideological component (the basis of the ideology of post-Soviet communist parties) and a political-cultural component (the pattern of post-Soviet political culture). Both components created a specific problem of relations with these phenomena for the ruling power. The study of the discourse of power on the subject of “Soviet ideology” (conducted mainly on the material of speeches and statements of the presidents of the Russian Federation) allowed us to identify three successive discursive strategies of such relations: the strategy of “struggle”, the strategy of “adaptation” and the strategy of “selective use”. The last of them was used in the 2010s in the conditions of consolidation of the authoritarian political regime. It made it possible to selective lyinclude the legacy of “Soviet ideology” in the ideological complex of the ruling regime, which is characterized by the use of not full-fledged political ideologies, but “identitarian narratives” that allow the inclusion of heterogeneous elements of ethno cultural, historical, religious, etc. traditions. Comparative studies also show that the orientation in the ideological sphere to such “identitarian narratives” is a characteristic trend of modern neo-autocracies.

Sovereigntism vs. anti-corruption messianism: a salient post-Soviet cleavage of populist mobilization

ABSTRACT This paper explores the commonalities of populist mobilizations in the post-Soviet region. It identifies a salient populist cleavage between two political projects that differ fundamentally about their focal point of political action: externalist sovereigntism and internalist anti-corruption messianism. While sovereigntism takes a defensive stance repelling foreign forces hostile to “the people,” anti-corruption messianism offensively tackles cronyism impeding developmental salvation for “the people.” The paper reconstructs six sovereigntist and anti-corruption projects, which have unfolded across different non-democratic regimes in Russia, Armenia, and Ukraine throughout the past decade. It is argued that the conflict between sovereigntism and anti-corruption messianism relates to a twofold, distinctively post-Soviet constellation: uncertainty over conflictual geopolitical abeyance and the exasperation over social closure due to the prevalence of oligarchical patronalism. In this context, both populist projects constitute powerful strategies of solidarity-forging under conditions in which other channels of political articulation have been either blocked or exhausted.

Alexei Navalny and Protests in Russia: Growth of Online Activism Under the Authoritarian System

This article problematizes the nature of the protests that outbroke in Russia following the arrest of the opposition activist Alexei Navalny in January 2021. Under the conditions of mass action ban and COVID-19 pandemic, the scope of the rallies make them the biggest mass action in the history of Russia after 1991. This article seeks to discuss the nature of the rallies as a form of civic activism as well as their capacity to liberalize Russian regime. Furthermore, this article aims to discuss the role of digital media during the protests. The article argues that the scope of the rallies, reliance on youth, online mobilization structure and thoroughly organized anatomy indicate that they have potential for regime change in future as it could be seen in the case of color revolutions in 2000s. At the same time, it is argued that in Russia, online activism is growing as a response to sovereignization of the Internet. This article relies on the qualitative research methodology. Data collection techniques include literature review on social activism and online media; study of Russian legislation; analysis of social media content; and examination of January events’ media coverage.

Models of municipal management and personnel exchange with regions: are the implemented practices effective?

The reform of the municipal system carried out since 2010 has revealed changes in the models of power organization and the growing interest of the federal authorities in the formation of reliable managerial personnel at the local level. The analysis of biographies of heads of municipalities in 80 subjects of the Federation, conducted by the authors of the article, showed that the state authorities actively use the municipal level as a personnel reserve. The study systematizes data on the choice of municipalities of one of the three main management models - the model of an elected head, a single-headed model of a city manager and a two-headed model. The article shows that the process of recruiting the municipal elite in Russia since 2010 has been intertwined with the formation of the state bureaucracy and the deputy corps, and the regional and municipal elite have become inseparable from each other, which corresponds to the peculiarities of the functioning of regional political regimes in Russia, where there are no two independent levels of power. The paper uses statistical methods to confirm the expediency of switching to non-electoral models for determining municipal heads from the point of view of stabilizing the political regime. The authors conclude that the reform of local self-government contributed to the formation of a unified system of public power in Russia before the constitutional reform of 2020, and the merging of the regional and municipal elite has a stabilizing political effect, playing an important role in strengthening the existing political regime.

Дискусії стосовно національного питання політичного устрою та координації антисамодержавних сил у Російській імперії на Паризькій конференції революційних та опозиційних партій (30 вересня – 9 жовтня 1904 р.)

The study covers the consideration of the national question in the Russian Empire at the Paris Conference of Russian Opposition and Revolutionary Parties, to analyze the published minutes of work and the final declaration. In the context of considering inter-ethnic relations in the Russian Empire, it is especially important to trace the views of the conference participants on the socialist-revolutionary projects of a possible reorganization of the Romanov’s despotism into a federal state, with broad autonomy of national territorial units and universal voting rite for all citizens. The research methodology is based on the principles of concrete-historical approach or historicism, objectivity, comprehensiveness and integrity, systematics, as well as the use of methods – analysis and synthesis, historical-comparative, historical-typological, and problem-chronological. The scientific novelty lies in the fact that for the first time in the historiography of the Socialist Party of Revolutionaries the national question was covered in detail at an interparty conference in Paris and the main contradictions in views on Russia’s post-revolutionary system between national socialist parties and SRs were analyzed. Conclusions. The Paris Conference served as the first platform for inter-party discussions between Russian liberals and socialists, but differences in their programs on the national question prevented them from developing concrete tactics and agreeing on joint steps to overthrow the autocracy. It resulted only in general political agreements on the establishment of a free democratic regime in Russia on the basis of free voting and the right of nations to self-determination, expressed in a joint declaration.

Regulatory sandboxes: comparative-legal study on the institution of experimental legal regimes in the Russian Federation and regulatory laboratories in Georgia

This article carries out a comparative-legal study of the institution of regulatory sandboxes in the Russian Federation and Georgia. Based on the information acquired upon the request of the National Bank of Georgia, the author examines the normative regulation of regulatory laboratories of Georgia – Decree of the President of the National Bank of Georgia No. 110/04 of May 25, 2020 “On the Approval of Establishment of Regulatory Laboratories by the National Bank of Georgia and their Use", as well as its comparison with the federal law and normative acts that regulate experimental legal regimes in Russia. The application of comparative-legal methods allows determining the similarities and differences in legal regulation and practice of implementation of such institutions in the Russian Federation and Georgia. Description is given to the terminological differences in legislation on legal experiments of the two countries, as well as the differences in the model of legal regulation of the institution of experimental legal regimes: comprehensive regulation by means of the federal law and normative acts in the Russian Federation, and overall regulation solely by the Decree of the President of the National Bank of Georgia. Georgia allows experimental regulation applicable exclusively to financial technologies, while the Russian Federation allows for a broader scope of implementation. This substantiates the differences in the requirements of initiators and authorities that regulate such legal experiments. The conclusion is made on the more successful practice of implementation of legal experiments in the sphere of financial technologies in Georgia, despite the absence of special law or large array of developing legislation.

The Social Life of Syrian Diplomacy: Transnational Kinship Networks of the Asad Regime

ABSTRACT This article uses original ethnographic data to document the kinds of informal diplomacy conducted by members of a transnational kinship group embedded in both the Syrian and the Russian regimes. As such it provides a rare ethnographic perspective on international relations of strongmen regimes in Syria and Russia. Relatively few studies have explored relationships of cooperation between modern political regimes which are mediated by transnational kinship networks. Rather than approaching transnational kinship networks as instrumental channels that states use to achieve their purposes, the article argues that this network has been able to colonise the Syrian state, by deploying violence on an urban scale and maintaining high-ranking diplomatic connections on a transregional scale. It also argues that such networks should not be understood by negation, as the absence of formal institutions, or as an alternative to the ‘real channels’ of diplomacy. From the perspective of the autocratic Asad regime, they have arguably provided a more durable infrastructure, through a period of global ideological change and regional realignment, than Baathist political institutions and diplomatic cadres.

Dysfunctional orders: Russia’s rubbish protests and Putin’s limited access order

ABSTRACT How do regimes based on limited access orders respond to socially driven discontent? What are the drivers of contentious politics in a state where the authorities assert control over society? This article analyses patterns of protest, repertories, and organization of the “rubbish protests” (musornye protesty) – a phrase coined by the Internet news outlet Zona Media during the Moscow region protests of 2018–2019. The article draws on social movement theories to explain mobilization, framing, and regime repression, and engages with the model of limited access orders to flesh out the specifics of interaction between social protest forces and the Putin regime. Finally, the case is used to tentatively classify the Russian regime as a “dysfunctional” order – where grievance communication and petitioning to the head of state evolves from being an opportunity to being curtailed by bureaucratic red tape and political repression.

Compliance Pitfalls in Communications with the Russian Customs: Overview of Anti-corruption Regulations and Enforcement Trends

Interactions with Russian customs authorities may be associated with corruption-related risks that need to be observed and managed from the outset should a company consider engaging in the import operations through the Russian border. This article focuses on reviewing the Russian legal framework, statistics and the enforcement practice concerning the most widespread corruption offenses related to the interactions with the customs officials, as well as the recent developments in anti-corruption customs legislation. It covers the legal foundation of the anti-corruption regime in Russia and analyses its basic institutions for the best understanding of the applicable legal mechanisms. The article also contains recommendations for international companies, regardless of their legal presence in Russia, how to manage their relations with Russian partners and local subsidiaries to minimize the risks of unnecessary attention from the Russian customs authorities, as well as Russian and foreign enforcement authorities specializing on the corruption-related matters. These recommendations include, among others, the adoption and control of compliance policies by nonlocal supervisors and maintaining relations with the Russian customs authorities by joining the Charter of the Bona Fide Participants of the Foreign Trade. Offense, Prosecution, Compliance, Corruption, Anti-Corruption, Bribery, Officials, Prohibition, Review of Legislation, Customs, Criminal Liability, Administrative Liability, Federal Customs Service of the Russian Federation, Russia

Prospects for the implementation and problems of the theory of the Institution of “regulatory sandboxes” (experimental legal regimes) in the Russian Federation

This article analyzes the Federal Law of July 31, 2020 “On Experimental Legal Regimes in the Sphere of Digital Innovations in the Russian Federation” enacted in 2021 and aimed at the creation of “regulatory sandboxes “ in the Russian Federation – special regimes that allow the organizations to test the effectiveness of innovative technologies in implementation of their products and services without the risk of breaching the legislation. Leaning on such theoretical categories  as “legal regime” and “legal experiment”, the author explores the elements of the new legal institution introduced into the Russian legal system. Description is given to the scope of applicability of the experimental legal regimes in Russia – the digital innovations. The article reviews the principles, objects, actors, conditions, restrictions, types, and stages of the experimental legal regime; as well as distinguishes the bodies that monitor and assess the legal experiments, including the authorized body for the experimental legal regimes, the organization that represents business community in the experimental legal regimes, regulatory body, coordinating body, the Central Bank of the Russian Federation. The grounds for termination of implementation of the experimental legal regimes are reviewed. Taking into account the foreign experience, the author predicts positive effect from the implementation of legislative novelty, which is able to ensure operational audit of fintech solutions and offset the potential risks of its implementation