ABSTRACT
The collapse of the Soviet system almost immediately transformed regions into powerful actors able to confront the center on many issues. In the conflict with the center, regions had numerous cards to play. History shows that the regions' role increases immensely in periods of crisis. A third source of power for the regional elite in Russia is the democratic procedure employed in presidential and parliamentary elections. In post-Communist Russia, regional leaders also find a source of power in their active roles as members of the upper chamber of the Russian Parliament. The globalization of international life was a strong factor accounting for the regions' increasing power vis-a-vis the center. In 1995, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs even elaborated the statute regulating interactions of the "Federation's subjects" with foreign countries. The regions' power is strengthened by their intensive contacts with foreign countries without Moscow's control.
