Presidential Decrees in Russia A Comparative Perspective

The book examines the way Russian presidents Yeltsin, Medvedev, and Putin have used their constitutional decree powers since the end of the Soviet regime. The Russian constitution gives the Russian president extremely broad decree-making power, but its exercise is constrained by both formal and informal considerations. The book compares the Russian president's powers to those of other presidents, including the executive powers of the United States president and those of Latin American presidents. The book traces the historical development of decree power in Russia from the first constitution in 1905 through the Soviet period and up to the present day, showing strong continuities over time. It concludes that Russia's president operates in a strategic environment, where he must anticipate the way other actors, such as the bureaucracy and the parliament, will respond to his use of decree power.

1. Introduction: Vladimir Putin and the limits of decree; 2. Presidential prerogative power; 3. The evolution of constitutional decree power in Russia; 4. Presidential decree power and the legislative process; 5. Presidential decrees and legislative sequences; 6. Decrees and presidential power.

Thomas F. Remington is Goodrich C. White Professor of Political Science at Emory University. He is author of a number of books and articles on Russian politics, including The Politics of Inequality in Russia (Cambridge University Press, 2011); The Russian Parliament: Institutional Evolution in a Transitional Regime, 1989–1999 (2001); and The Politics of Institutional Choice: Formation of the Russian State Duma (co-authored with Steven S. Smith, 2001). Remington is a past member of the Board of Trustees of the National Council for Eurasian and East European Research and of the Board of Directors of the American Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies. He was advisor for Russia Workshops for the East-West Parliamentary Practice Project, based in Amsterdam, and he planned and directed a series of workshops for parliamentarians in a number of cities in Russia from 1993 through 2007. He has been a senior Fellow and visiting Professor of Government at Harvard University from 2007 to 2009 and 2013 to 2014.