Introduction

This issue of REGION, the first devoted to a single topic, concerns the subject of regional elections in the Russian Federation since 2007 and especially legislation following the protests of 2011–12 that reinstated gubernatorial elections. The seven scholars who have contributed articles to this special issue are accomplished political scientists based in the United States, Canada, and Great Britain. They differ considerably in their interpretations of the impetus for the recent legislation, and its likely effects on regional politics and the relationship between the regions and the center in Moscow. However, in keeping with the policy of REGION to include perspectives from the part of the world to which this journal is devoted, we commissioned a response to the six articles by Dr. Ivan Kurilla of the Department of International Relations and Area Studies at Volgograd State University.

We invite readers of this issue to critically engage with its contents and, if they are so inclined, to send their responses to the journal which we will endeavor to publish in a subsequent issue.