Municipal reform and the distribu-tion of power in administration of a small Russian town

Текст статьи.

Abstract

Abstract: The municipal  reform led to emergence of the appointed city-managers – a new local public institution. As a result, new configurations of leaders appeared in local communities. Before the reform mayors (heads of the local government) were the most influential actors in the local space; they were elected by people and led local administrations. At present, the situation has become less certain. Who of the public leaders is the most influential now: head of the town or city-manager? The answer to this question is not obvious as it might seem at first glance. Most scholars are sure that city-managers have a wider set of capabilities and powers than mayors due to the institutional resources. However, the importance of personal factor in the Russian politics can substantially reduce and even neutralise the institutional (structural) biases. Empirical data show that city-managers do not necessarily become the top figures in the local political space in cases when they are confronted by experienced and popular mayors elected by the population. In the research project conducted by Alla Chirikova, Valeri Ledyaev and Dmitry Seltser in several small Russian towns (2011-2014) different patterns of power has been discovered. One of the communities was dominated by the city-manager, the other – by the mayor who led the local legislature while the city-manager turned out to be a secondary figure. Differences in the power structures of the urban communities largely explain why institutional reforms and innovations do not always provide the realization of the goals of the reformers while informal practices are often much more effective and to a greater extent determine the nature of interaction between the key actors in local politics than normative resources.    

Content (in russ)