Paradiplomacy in Russia

The chapter's objective is to explain the evolution of the international activity of sub-state entities in contemporary Russia, with particular emphasis on regions as constituent units of the federation. The author examines the transition from the ‘sovereignty parade’ ( parad suverenitetov ), characteristic of the 1990s, to the rise of authoritarian tendencies and, in practice, the complete centralization of paradiplomatic activities under Kremlin control. The turning point in this time is, on the one hand, the establishment of the ‘new Russia’ (the Russian Federation), and, on the other hand, the beginning of a full-scale war against Ukraine and the related open confrontation with the West, which has profoundly reshaped the international influence of Russia's regional and local authorities. The author intends to analyze the variables that have primarily shaped paradiplomacy in the Russian Federation and to identify the main challenges to effective paradiplomatic activity there, both in the past and present, as well as in the foreseeable future. An essential component of this study also involves an assessment of the state of research in this field.