ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the complex processes and attempts to answer the question of who governed Russia on the eve of the August 1998 crisis, and moreover, what difference it makes who governs. Political authority was viewed by traditional Russian elites as closely related to property ownership. Crime and illegality are not threats to the system. The managerial elite gradually drove the radical intellectuals from positions of influence and consolidated its hold on power. The presidency was created in December 1993, after Boris Yeltsin's draft constitution won popular endorsement in a national referendum. The legislature, the Federal Assembly, is divided into two chambers, the Federation Council, and the State Duma. The most contentious issue between the federal government and the regions is the division of power between federal and regional authorities, especially power over tax and budgetary matters. Majoritarian politics promises benefits to large numbers of persons at a cost that large numbers of persons will have to bear.
