The Merging of Russia's Regions As Applied Nationality Policy: A Suggested Rationale (Report‪)‬

Introduction The latest phase in Moscow's campaign to restore central authority over its regions is the policy of ukrupnenie ("merging"), which amalgamates multiple federal subjects (1) into unified, enlarged political-territorial units. Since late 2005, a series of five mergers has reduced the number of federal subjects from 89 to 83, quite some distance from the ultimate goal of 40 or 50. (2) Russian President-cum-Prime Minister Vladimir Putin insists that the purpose of ukrupnenie is to "solve social-economic problems" in impoverished regions by linking them to wealthier neighbors, in the process slashing resource-draining regional bureaucracies. (3) The Muscovite press echoes this justification, asking who is "next in line for merging?" (4) and how "many subjects does the federation need?" (5) Glaringly absent from the discussion is a critical why?