The leaders of Russia’s federal subjects are handling three issues—abortion, alcohol sales, and migrant groups—so differently that people are traveling to different regions to take advantage, despite Russian President Vladimir Putin homogenizing the Russian legal field. The Kremlin could likely put an end to these policy differences, but it appears to have decided that such an effort would cause more problems than it would solve, or that it is a useful way to test ideas or mollify the population. The allowance of limited political heterogeneity could accustom regional governments to a degree of autonomy, triggering a return to the 1990s’ tensions between Russian regions and Moscow.
Russia’s Governors Increasingly Taking Positions on Key Issues at Odds with Moscow – Jamestown
