Conditions of Successful Re-election of ‘Varyag’ Governors in Russian Regions after 2012

Student: Gushchin Daniil

Faculty: Saint-Petersburg School of Social Sciences

Educational Programme: Comparative Politics of Eurasia (Master)

Year of Graduation: 2021

The stability of electoral authoritarianism in Russia depends strongly on regional governors, as they are the one orchestrating both regional and national elections. There is a division among governors, as there are local governors who rule in regions where they have certain experience, and foreign governors or «varyags». This paper considers «varyags» of post-2012 period, when direct governor elections were reimplemented in Russia, some of whom won reelection, lost one or were demoted before they were able to participate in elections. This paper’s main concern is locating certain factors that allow them to keep their seat and remain in power. The paper offers a concept of principal-agent theory and patron-client relationship, stating that disruption of such relationship is the main reason behind governors losing their seat.

Student Theses at HSE must be completed in accordance with the University Rules and regulations specified by each educational programme.

Summaries of all theses must be published and made freely available on the HSE website.

The full text of a thesis can be published in open access on the HSE website only if the authoring student (copyright holder) agrees, or, if the thesis was written by a team of students, if all the co-authors (copyright holders) agree. After a thesis is published on the HSE website, it obtains the status of an online publication.

Student theses are objects of copyright and their use is subject to limitations in accordance with the Russian Federation’s law on intellectual property.

In the event that a thesis is quoted or otherwise used, reference to the author’s name and the source of quotation is required.

Search all student theses