Paul Goble
Staunton, Mar. 15 – Georgy Filimonov, the governor of Vologda Oblast, wants his region to be the testing ground for radical conservative ideas such as banning abortions, significantly limiting the sale of alcohol, and preventing immigrants from working in key areas of the economy there.
He has attracted attention as perhaps the most “outrageous” governor in the Russian Federation not only for his promotion of such ideas but also for the frequency with which his proposals have been shot down either by business interests in his region or by Moscow (nakanune.ru/articles/123265/).
The attention Filimonov has received highlights three aspects of Russian political life that are all too often ignored. First, the existence of a federal system with more than 80 subjects not only allows those governors who want to take the risk to push new ideas but almost compels them to take radical stands if they want to be heard at all.
Second, both the attention the Vologda governor has received and the ways in which he has been shot down for his ideas highlights why the existence even of this limited federalism is useful to the Kremlin: the Putin regime can see what works and what doesn’t without putting itself at risk.
And third, by both his successes and his failures, Filimonov is participating in real politics, putting out ideas that some may accept while others may reject, in ways that may change the direction of the country on key issues, even if much of what he proposes is dismissed by the authorities.
Labelling him “outrageous” as many outlets do obscures all this and keeps analysts from paying attention to governors who may adopt similar strategies to advance their own ideas and careers and the ideas and careers of their patrons in Moscow.
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