러시아 연방체제의 특성 = Systemic characteristics of Russian federalism

국문 초록 (Abstract)

이 논문은 러시아 연방체제가 가진 구조적인 결함을 파악하고 그것이 정치·경제적 불안정을 악화시키는 측면을 분석하고자 한다. 이를 바탕으로 그러한 결함이, 소연방의 경우처럼, 러시아연방의 해체를 초래할 가능성도 점검한다.
러시아 연방체제의 가장 심각한 구조적 결함으로는 89개의 구성주체가 동일하지 않은 지위를 가지는 점, 연방정부와 구성정부 간의 권한 구분이 헌법상에 뚜렷하게 명시되지 않은 점, '연방재정주의(fiscal federalism)'가 확립되지 않은 점, 정당 체제가 모두 중앙집권화되어 있고 지방 정치에 뿌리를 두고 있지 않은 점 등을 들 수 있다. 이러한 요인들로 인해 중앙정부와 구성정부 간에 안정적인 연방관계가 형성되지 못하고 있고 특히 구성정부의 독립적인 지위가 보장되지 못하고 있다. 그러나 체첸 사태와 같은 계속되는 혼란에도 불구하고 러시아가 연방체제의 붕괴라는 소연방의 전철을 밟을 가능성은 희박하다. 그것은 현재의 러시아 연방체제가 그 기본틀에 있어서는 소연방 체제의 유산을 상당 부분 내포하고 있지만, 구체적인 구성 내용에 있어서는 많은 차이가 있기 때문이다.

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

The following characteristics are attributed as making the Russian system less than solid and stable: 1) The structure is untypical for a federal system in that the federation consists of 89 constituent subjects of different types (republics, autonomous republic, autonomous okrugs, oblasts, krais, federal cities) with unequal rights. 2) The federation was not made voluntarily. It is comprised of more than 100 non-Russian nations (or ethnic groups) which harbor long-standing enmity not only towards the Russian but also against one another. 3) The constitutional arrangement and the federal subjects vis-a｀-vis the center. 4) The idea of fiscal federalism is not fully institutionalized yet. The nation's budget is centrally managed and tightly controlled by the federal government, which deprives the federal subjects of fiscal independence from the federal government. 5) The organization and operation of the political parties are maintained centrally controlled from the top in Moscow. This general absence of local support base for the parties deprives the federal subjects of political support in their fight against the federal government.
Based on those structural defects, some pessimists even suggest the possibility that the Russian Federation may disintegrate like its predecessor. But that possibility is too far-fetched a scenario, it is argued, on the following grounds: 1) The composition of the Russian federal system is fundamentally different from that of the Soviet Union. Unlike the Soviet Union, which was composed of 15 ethnic republics, the Russian Federation is only partly composed of ethnic (21 republics, 1 autonomous republic, and 10 autonomous okrugs). Even if they should break away from the Russian Federation, the federation may not automatically disintegrate because the loss would amount to less than 30 percent of its territory and 20 percent of its population. 2) The Russian republics have no history of independent statehood, unlike most of the Soviet republics. Therefore, they are not likely to go as far as calling for independence. Their demands may well boil down to sovereign autonomy as federal subjects, falling short of full independence from the Russian Federation. 3) There are only five republics out of the 21 in which the titular ethnic people comprise more than 50 percent of the population of the republic. In six republics, the titular people do not reach the 30 percent level. And, in as many as nine, Russians comprise more than 50 percent. Under these circumstances, most of the republics don't have demographic foundation to mobilize nationalism strong enough to instigate independence movements. 4) Most of the republics have a very weak economic base to sustain them. It makes it very unlikely that they can overcome the devastating effects of economic sanctions which the federal government would impose on them in case of independence struggle.
The system needs structural reinforcement to become a more viable federal system. Especially, reform measures are needed in enhancing the stand of federal subjects vis-a-vis the federal government. The most urgent of them include institutionalizing fiscal federalism and judicial independence, and developing political parties with strong grassroots support base in regional politics.

목차 (Table of Contents)

• 요약
• Ⅰ. 문제 제기
• Ⅱ. 연방체제의 일반적 특성
• Ⅲ. 러시아의 연방체제
• 1. 소비에트 연방체제의 유산
• 2. 러시아 연방체제의 문제
• Ⅳ. 결론 : 평가와 전망