NORTH CAUCASUS ELITES IN RUSSIA IN 2007-2008: ATTITUDES AND REACTIONS IN THE ELECTION YEARS
PROJECT TITLE
Prague/Czech Republic
NORTH CAUCASUS ELITES IN RUSSIA IN 2007-2008: ATTITUDES AND REACTIONS IN THE ELECTION YEARS
SUMMARY:
Regional elites1 in Russia are going to play an increasingly important role in shaping Russia’s politics particularly during and after the upcoming parliamentary and presidential elections in Russia in late 2007 – early 2008. Role of regional elites in the North Caucasus, which remains one of the most volatile and unstable Russia’s regions, seems to be even more important.
Project proposal “North Caucasus Elites in Russia in 2007-2008” is aimed at exploring reactions and attitudes of regional elites in the North Caucasus towards the most important aspects of federal center’s policy, to current relations between federal and regional authorities during the election years and to the most burning issues in each concrete North Caucasus republics.
Elite surveys in the North Caucasus is a unique research project capable of shedding a light on a completely unknown and delicate sphere of interrelations federal and regional elites since there is no research of elites’ attitudes to federal policy, which is getting increasingly unpopular among regional elites in Russia, in the first place in the North Caucasus.
The North Caucasus remains the most volatile region in Russia. The failure to address the monumental social and economic problems of the region, grinding poverty, unemployment as high as 80% and pervasive corruption breed anger and nourish extremism. Chechnya, Dagestan and Ingushetia are still plagued by violence while the local authorities seem to be unable to find an effective solution to numerous social and economic problems.
Upcoming parliamentary and presidential elections in Russia in late 2007 – early 2008 initiated the ongoing process of regrouping of both federal and regional elites, which is going to have a decisive impact on the results of the elections and on possible changes in Russia’s foreign and internal politics in general. In this context, regional elites’ attitudes to current federal policy and their perceptions of current relations between federal center and regional authorities are of a particular importance for understanding possible evolution of political situation in Russia.