Electronic screens on a building facade showing an image of Russian President Vladimir Putin and a quote from his address to the Federal Assembly, in Moscow, Russia, Feb 29, 2024. this weekend. We all know Vladimir Putin will win. The only real question is whether he will receive more than 75 per cent of the vote.
Yeltsin described this system as democratic because it made the president answerable to the people. They also argued that rights provisions would allow courts to limit any abuses by the centralised state. Second, centralised directives are delegated to under-resourced, incompetent and weak institutions. Russia’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic was disastrous, in large part due to the poorly resourced regional authorities who were overwhelmed by a crisis of this scale.
These kind of promises, however, are unlikely to be implemented. Putin has traditionally promised these kinds of changes around presidential elections. But, when it comes to implementing them, Russia’s regional sub-units are often given no resources to do so.