Viral regionalization

One of the unexpected political consequences of Pandemia in the Russian Federation was that the ratings of the governors overtook the presidential. This was recorded by the polls of the Levada Center.

And this has never happened during the entire Putin era since the beginning of the zero years, when the governors actually ceased to be independent politicians, but began to be appointed from the Kremlin. Even the formal "return" of their election in 2012 did not change anything, since the "vast majority of cases pre -appointed" temporarily acting "became governors in the vast majority of cases.

However, the “black swan” of Koronavirus suddenly broke this “vertical”. Putin, self -isolated in the bunker near Moscow, transferred responsibility for the fight against pandemia to governors. And so suddenly I had to make independent decisions without decrees from Moscow to which they were used to.

At the same time, many governors began to copy the actions of the Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin. Moreover, the rigidity of restrictive measures in the northwest sometimes exceeds Moscow. The head of Karelia, Arthur Parfenchikov, even stopped all public transport - both city and intercity.

The new "acting" no longer want to look like simple conductors of the Kremlin initiatives, as was customary before, when they were even proud of it. They suddenly erupt their own political position

Moreover - despite Putin’s statement about the inadmissibility of the closure of the borders between the regions, the same Parfenchikov in April put on the boundaries of Karelia KPP, which limit the entrance to the republic. Thus, he seemed to heed the petitions of the inhabitants of Karelia, who demanded to stop the influx of Moscow and St. Petersburg tourists who "bring the virus." Of course, he himself does not make anti -Moscow statements, but the paradox is that his desire to surpass the Moscow mayor of all kinds of prohibitions is actually directed against guests from the capital.

Parfenchikov clearly goes beyond the authority allotted to him, which is already causing protests by the Karelian public, which has filed a lawsuit that governor orders were violating the constitutional rights of citizens. And this is another paradox of the current situation - the strict mode of "self -isolation" is established almost everywhere, but not justified by nothing, the emergency regime is not officially introduced in any region.

Perhaps this is due to the famous legal chaos, which the Kremlin arranged at the beginning of the year, announcing amendments to the Constitution. And although the popular vote on them has not yet taken place, probably many governors began to consider the “former” constitutional norms not so important for themselves. And they try to lead their game, not wanting to lose the amount of authority that has fallen on them.

In this context, another significant event for the northwest is interesting-a memorandum signed in May about the upcoming association of the Arkhangelsk region and the Nenets Autonomous Okrug. It is significant that this initiative is presented precisely as the "local", and not the Kremlin, as it was in 2005 in the unification of the Perm region and the Komi-Permyak Autonomous Okrug to the Perm Territory. Although this project is promoted by the governors recently appointed by the Kremlin - Alexander Tsybulsky in Arkhangelsk and Yuri Beeshodnaya in the NAO.

The local public, especially in the NAO, reacted to this idea protest. Citizens rightly indicate that such projects should not be carried out "temporarily acting" that no one has chosen. Perhaps the Kremlin has its own "geopolitical" plans for these Arctic territories, so he wants to unite them for the convenience of management. But it is also obvious that the Kremlin appointments want to create an image of "independent" politicians who seem to promote this association.

Indeed, the new "acting" no longer want to look like simple guides of the Kremlin initiatives, as was customary before, when they were even proud of it. They suddenly erupt their own political position, it would seem, long forgotten among governors. For example, the acting head of the Komi Vladimir Uyba opposed the possible unification of the republic with the Arkhangelsk region and the NAO - such a project in May was also nominated. “The initiatives should proceed from below,” he said, and such words sounded very unusual for the Kremlin governor.

In a word, the status of governors has grown markedly from the beginning of this year. Will they be able to keep him? This is a very difficult task, because it will require them unprecedented in the last 20 years of choice. If they work only on the growth of their points in KPI (the governor rating approved by the presidential administration) - of course, they will win from the point of view of the Kremlin, but will lose in the eyes of the local population. And if they prefer to establish contacts with the regional civil community - this almost incredible option can be the beginning of a new political era. However, at the beginning of this year, much seemed incredible ...

Vadim Stepa - editor -in -chief of the journal Region. Expert

The "Opinion" expressed in the heading of the point of view may not coincide with the position of the editorial office