ABSTRACT
The purpose of this chapter is to explore the process of democratization at the local level of government in Russia. In particular, it will focus on the development of local legislatures, called soviets, from 1990, the year in which major reforms of local government were introduced, until 1993, when the soviets were abolished by presidential decree. At first glance, such a focus might now seem more appropriate to the study of Russian history. However, if the political transformation under way in Russia since 1988 is understood as a continuing process in which Gorbachev’s perestroika, ending in late 1991, was the first phase, and the dissolution of the old system by Yeltsin marked the end of the second, then an analysis of what was (or was not) achieved in these phases becomes highly pertinent, both for those trying to understand the political transformation of Russia and for political scientists who want to understand how political systems become democratic. In the hope of contributing something to both concerns, this chapter will address two related, although analytically distinct, questions: To what extent did local legislatures in Russia, starting in 1990, become institutionalized? Did these institutions, in the same period, become more democratic?
