Russian Center-Periphery Relations from Khrushchev to Putin, 1957-2018

From Khrushchev to Putin, Soviet and Russian political leaders have determined who governs the Russian regions. A comparison of all 791 regional leaders who led the current 83 Russian regions between 1957 and 2018 finds that locals, through their origins and prior careers, have made the major difference in center-periphery relations in Russia since 1991. Currently, these local regional leaders are the political legacy of the Boris Yeltsin presidency. A significant decline in the number of locals serving as regional leaders is also the most likely change to be sought by President Putin in his efforts to eradicate the Yeltsin legacy and attain even greater political dominance over Russia in his fourth term (2018-2024).