Nikolai Medvedev: local self-government of Bashkortostan is notable for high efficiency

Realization of self-government in Republic of Bashkortostan is notable for high level of efficiency, the President of the Union of Russian political scientists, Doctor of political sciences Nikolai Medvedev said in the course of the seminar for the heads of municipal and city districts RB, held in Ufa today.

“I’ve studied the legislation of Bashkortostan in details and think it corresponds to the Russian one to a high degree” – he said – “At the same time realization of self-government in your Republic allows taking the historical, national and economical peculiarities of the region into consideration”.

According to M-r Medvedev today the system of local self-government in the country is radically different fr om the system, functioning in the Soviet Union for a long time.

“The local self-government existed in Russia always, beginning with country councils but in different historical periods it was different with its legal basics and organizational structure” – Nikolai Medvedev said – “The principle of hierarchic subordination and strict centralization in the Soviet epoch proved its inefficiency. Therefore after the USSR breakdown and foundation of a new state the question concerning formation of a new state system arose. The politicians had to make a choice – either to use the old state model or to turn to the European state model, based on differentiation of the central state and local authorities within the frames of their competences”.

“It is long ago proved in the whole world that the principle of decentralization is more efficient than total centralization, so the European model of state system was taken as a basic one in Russia but taking the peculiarities of our regions into account. But it turned out too difficult to delim itate the competences between the central, regional and local authorities and, of course, this process wasn’t equally successful in different Russian regions, but IAE during almost two decades this state system functions in the country and every year it becomes more perfect”.

Certain decline to the power centralization, observed now, is quite accessible as a temporary step in opinion of M-r Medvedev and it can be efficient for example in the struggle with the after-effects of the crisis.

“But this course is erroneous as the strategic one” – Nikolai Medvedev said – “And it would be