Oleksiy Bondarenko1; 1 University of Birmingham, UK
Discussion
How do autocrats recruit subnational officials? How are these recruitment patterns affected by endogenous and exogenous shocks? While centre-region relations in Russia experienced several zigzags, influenced by a complex interplay between formal and informal institutions and practices, the appointment of governors played a central role in the consolidation of the authoritarian system of federal governance over the last 20 years. Exploiting the data on gubernatorial elections and appointments between 2012 and 2025, the article analyses changes and continuities in the subnational cadre rotation in conjunction with two major inflection points, the COVID-19 crisis and the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The article argues that over time the Kremlin has adopted various recruitment strategies, from appointment of governors embedded in local communities to complete outsiders, thus balancing between loyalty and popular legitimacy of sub-national cadres. This flexibility in centre-region relations and adaptation of recruitment patterns within the framework of authoritarian governance remain central elements of regime’s stability in a moment of multiple crises. The article contributes to an understanding of authoritarian governance that seeks to enhance centralization while minimizing the possibility of regional instability in a period of endogenous and exogenous shocks.
