Levels of Centralisation and Autonomy in Russia’s ‘Party of Power’: Cross-Regional Variations
Journal: Europe Asia Studies
Year: 2016

The institutionalization and nationalisation of Russia’s party system, which is dominated by United Russia (UR), has played a major role in the building of Putin’s ‘power vertical’. Nevertheless, despite the fact that formal relations within United Russia are highly centralized, informal practices allow for far greater degrees of regional autonomy. Focusing on UR’s candidate selection for the 2011 Duma election this paper provides an examination of cross-regional variations in the relations betw