Is “Strong” Really That Bad? Strong Presidency in Russian Politics Revisited

Strong presidency in Russia has its legal basis in the 1993 constitution. As democratic stagnation and erosion have been taking place under the Yelstin and Putin regimes, the strong presidency has been targeted as a main culprit that brought about this regress. Harsh criticisms have been made on the undemocratic features of the Russian presidency and other related negative effects. However, those criticisms may not reflect the inherent essence of the strong presidency in transitional Russia. Under the same institution of powerful presidency, Yeltsin and Putin showed different leaderships and different outcomes. One major big difference between the two concerned the rebuilding of the Russian state that could increase the state capacity by the establishment of effective state institutions. Putin’s drive for the recentralization of the almost semi-feudal Russian federation, inherited from the Yeltsin years, showed that the strong presidency could play a positive role in post-Soviet Russia in the course of a multiple systemic transformation.