ABSTRACT
Particularization, and regionalization as one of its forms, is in many respects a valuable process for groups and regions of all types. In the mid-1990s, members of any ethnic group in the United States cannot be too proud of their origin and culture. However, the cost of further regionalization is not small, particularly if the relationship between the center and the periphery does not have a solid legal basis, as well as rules on how to change it that are recognized by all players. Political confrontations, over political differences between the regions and the center and over the loyalty of military units to specific regional leaders, can generate dangerous consequences for Russia. The economic effects of Russian decentralization, as observed in 1992-1995, are contradictory, as are many of its other consequences. The illegal activity of local elites in 1993-1995 primarily centered on grabbing state property in the process of privatization.
