As I mentioned in a previous post ([PEN-L:1] Re: Mark Jones's comments on Russian crisis), the reaction might mean economic decentralisation (into myriad fiefdoms or corporate-clan structures based on the regional basis). I was surprised to find out - just minutes after I finished writing the last message - the following post (from RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 2, No. 171 Part I, 4 September 1998). REGIONS CONSIDER ECONOMIC SEPARATISM... "Kommersant- Daily" on 3 September suggests that the ongoing political and economic crisis in Russia may prompt the handful of federation subjects (including Moscow, Tatarstan, and Krasnoyarsk Krai) that are not dependent on subsidies from the federal budget to embark on the path of economic separatism. The newspaper notes that the governors of Sakha and Kemerovo, Mikhail Nikolaev and Aman Tuleev, have already begun forming their own gold and hard-currency reserves in violation of federal law. At the same time, those regions dependent on subsidies from Moscow are experiencing budget deficits, which in some cases are equal to the entire annual budget. The newspaper also notes that such policies risk increasing the rift not only between the regions and the federal center but also between the individual regions. Saratov governor Dmitrii Ayatskov has warned that the present economic crisis could result in the disintegration of Russia as a federation and its rebirth as a confederation. LF -- Gregory Schwartz Department of Political Science York University 4700 Keele St. Toronto, Ontario M3J 1P3 Canada Tel: (416) 736-5265 Fax: (416) 736-5686 Web: http://www.yorku.ca/dept/polisci
