Kremlin Tightens Power Over Russia's Regions
President Medvedev removes governors after United Russia loses votes
Mar 24, 2009
The economic crisis has swept through Russia like a fire, and the Kremlin is feeling the heat. United Russia, the party of President Medvedev and Prime Minister Putin, has recently lost electoral support in local elections making the Kremlin uneasy about its stronghold over Russia's regions.
Economic Crisis Leads to High Unemployment in Russia
From 1999-2007, Russia's economy had been growing 7 percent a year on average due to increased capital investment and high commodity prices. Unemployment had been steadily decreasing since 2004 and the government was running surpluses over $20 billion.
Since the economic crisis hit Russia this scene of economic growth has dramatically changed. The current unemployment rate is at a 4 year high of 8.1 percent after 300,000 jobs were lost in February bringing total layoffs to over 1 million since December, 2008. The average wage dropped more than 9 percent to $418 per month, the same level as 1999.
United Russia Loses Votes in March 1st Elections
At January 31st protests termed the "Day of Dissent," thousands of Russians took to the streets around Russia to protest the current government and the effects of the economic crisis, including a rise in food and electricity prices.
At one Moscow protest, 40 people were arrested and held in jail; other protests were broken up by riot police. Protestors called for the resignation of Putin's government and criticized the government for repressing the opposition.
In addition to protests, voters turned their support away from United Russia in the March 1st local legislature and mayoral elections. Although United Russia won in all nine regional parliaments, their voter base declined by an average of 10 percent. The party failed to reach 40 percent representation in three city legislatures.
Nikolay Petrov of the Carnegie Moscow Center reports that United Russia "lost badly wherever the slightest hint of competition existed."
The Kremlin Reacts by Replacing Local Governors
With fears of increasing social unrest, the Kremin has recently taken measures to tighten its grip on Russia's regions. In February, President Medvedev removed four regional governors from office. Russia's Vedomosti reported that the Kremlin planned to replace governors in areas with high unemployment.
After the local election results were unfavorable to United Russia, Medvedev removed a fifth governor. Yuri A. Yevdokimov, governor of Murmansk in Northwest Russia, was a member of United Russia, but was feuding with party leaders in Moscow. In the recent election, Yevdokimov supported an independent mayoral candidate who beat the United Russia candidate.
The effects of the current economic downturn on average Russian life are reminiscent of the economic crash of 1998. Stephen Sestanovich, a Russian scholar at the Council on Foreign Relations, recounts that the crash of 1998 "was not only an economic calamity but a political crisis. It toppled the government, ended the political careers of key liberal policy makers, and actually brought Communists back into power."
Medvedev and Putin learned from the Yeltsin era. The Kremlin leaders will continue to take measures, albeit undemocratic ones, to avoid becoming victims of a similar fate.
Sources:
"Government Critics, Backers Take to Russian Streets" Radio Free Europe. January 31, 2009
Levy, Clifford J. "Governor in Russia is Ousted by Kremlin" New York Times. March 21, 2009
"January Sees Russian Unemployment Rate Climb to 4 year high" Russia Today. February 19, 2009
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