THE URAL REGION: PROSPECTS OF A POLITICAL UNION IN THE EARLY 1990s

The paper examines the actions taking place in the Ural region in the early 1990s, aimed at increasing independence of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation and the creation of a large political and economic association of several regions of the Urals. In a difficult political situation, new solutions of administrative and territorial structure, regional governance and power decentralization issues were needed. The idea of enlarging Russian regions was seen by various political forces as one of the options for reforming the administrative-territorial structure of the country. The idea was discussed at the Politburo meetings, reflected in the proposals of the democratic opposition representatives, such as Andrey Sakharov, Gavriil Popov and even Boris Yeltsin, and was also discussed in the drafting of the Russian Federation Constitution in 1990–1993. The creation of joint management structures and the formation of public opinion on the issue had begun in the Ural region since 1989, when the regional authorities started to strengthen inter-regional connection of the Urals and launched the process of merging the region into one political entity to solve the economic and social problems. The idea of creating large regions have passed from a discussion format to real political practice and, as a result, was banned. Despite the Ural Republic creation and the political unification of the Ural region into one political entity were prohibited, the processes of inter-regional consolidation to solve common problems and implement joint development programs continued after 1993.