While formally a federation that vests significant powers in the sub-national bodies of government and leaves it for its federal units and municipalities to decide who will govern them by conducting elections, the Russian Federation is effectively a centralized authoritarian state. This paper uses evidence from the September 2017 sub-national elections in Russia to examine the role of formal political institutions in sustaining the country’s political regime. The analysis shows that the political domination of the pro-government party over the regional political assemblies is sustained by a complex combination of party regulations and electoral rules. In particular, gubernatorial elections are organized and conducted in a way that ensures the victories of the incumbent governors who are effectively appointed by the president of Russia.

中文翻译：

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俄罗斯以民主联邦制为幌子的集权专制：来自 2017 年 9 月地方选举的证据

虽然正式的联邦赋予地方政府机构重要权力，并让其联邦单位和市政府通过选举来决定谁将管理它们，但俄罗斯联邦实际上是一个集权的专制国家。本文使用 2017 年 9 月俄罗斯地方选举的证据来研究正式政治机构在维持该国政治体制方面的作用。分析表明，亲政府党对地区政治议会的政治统治是由党规和选举规则的复杂组合维持的。特别是，州长选举的组织和进行方式确保了由俄罗斯总统有效任命的现任州长的胜利。