Regional Developments in Russia: Territorial Fragmentation in a Consolidating Authoritarian State

The article surveys Russia's regional and centre-periphery developments and their wider implications for the country's political, economic, and territorial future. In particular, it discusses President Putin's federalism and local government interventions and takes stock of the outcome of these and other relevant federal initiatives. The paper also discusses the broader implications of authoritarian state-building for the country's social, economic, and territorial cohesion. Globalization-related external influences on regional economies and politics are also discussed and the significance of the hitherto largely neglected variable of geography in shaping the nature and intensity of these influences is highlighted. Using examples from China and India, the paper shows how globalization may have highly uneven economic and political regional impacts in territorially large countries. The paper suggests that in Russia, external influences from regional political and economic players such as the EU, other Western donors, or multinational corporations may impinge upon authoritarian tendencies; however, they are only bound to increase regional socio-economic and political divergence given their spatially uneven nature.