Resize Text: The author investigates Russian federalism and the constitutional underpinnings of the power vertical, looking specifically at the Constitutional Court's December 2005 case about the appointment of governors. The court's decision upheld the constitutional notion of a "unified system of executive power" as the primary legal justification for the power vertical. However, not all of the justices agreed with this reading of the Russian constitution, and the dissenting special opinions provide alternative interpretations of the Russian constitution's division of power. The author also analyzes President Dmitry Medvedev's November 2008 state of the nation address and Medvedev's unexpected call to reexamine and clarify the Russian constitution's requirement for a unified system of executive power.
William E. Pomeranz is currently the deputy director of the Kennan Institute of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for scholars.
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