Abstract

Chapter
First Online: 04 May 2022
Part of the Local and Urban Governance book series (LUG)

Abstract

In Russia, in 2020, the pandemic led to a remarkable decentralization in the power distribution from the federal government to the regional authorities, which were free to choose restrictive measures and, in general, to implement strategies to deal with the pandemic and its consequences. Based on an analysis of legal regulations and statistical data, the chapter examines how policy measures varied among Russian regions and how they reflected the trade-off between spread of the disease, economic well-being, and political priorities, all highly dependent on the regional context. We conclude that although regional authorities acquired responsibility for the situation, during the pandemic they often had a lack of relevant resources to deal with its economic consequences. Crises primarily affected the market services sector, for example, hotels, catering, culture and leisure enterprises, and B2B services. The resulting unemployment rates varied highly among regions partly because of the initial differences in the sectoral structure of labor markets, but also due to the effectiveness of policy measures adopted by regional and local governments. The case of St. Petersburg, which recorded the highest death rates from COVID-19 in Russia, shows the incompleteness and contradictions in official statistics that complicated the adoption of governmental decisions. Inadequate regional and municipal budget planning and implementation undermined an effective policy response to the pandemic in the city.

Cite this chapter
Glezer, O., Antonov, E., Safronov, S., Sheludkov, A., Strakhov, K., Zotova, M. (2022). The Role of Regional and Local Governance in Dealing with the Socioeconomic Consequences of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Russia. In: Nunes Silva, C. (eds) Local Government and the COVID-19 Pandemic. Local and Urban Governance. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-91112-6_21

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