Russia’s regions as winners and losers: political motives and outcomes in the distribution of federal government transfers

Abstract

Russia is a nation with a remarkably low degree of homogeneity across regions and a large number of regional imbalances or disparities. This article analyses which political factors affect the distributive politics of the federal government and how it contributes to equalizing the disproportions. The authors studied the annual regional distribution of federal transfers over the last decade. Part of these transfers was defined as ‘politically sensitive’ (subsidies, ‘other grants’) as they differ from the transfers relying on purely economic indicators (equalization grants) or linked to the partial devolution of power to the regions (subventions). The authors used such variables as regional wealth (precursor of bargaining power), governors’ political influence (measured by expert ratings), ethnic composition (buying loyalty of non-Russian regions), geopolitical vulnerability (areas claimed/influenced from abroad), and electoral campaigns (‘pork barrel’ and ‘loyalty reward’ politics). Most of these factors proved to be relevant.