English language historiography on political transformations in the Russian Far East in the 1990's - early 2000's

The modern political history of the Russian Far East is poorly covered in English language historiography. Of the last 30 years, Western experts subjected to a certain analysis the period of the 1990s-early 2000s, when the Russian society underwent rapid transformations. Their scientific comprehension practically went in real time, that imposed restrictions on the formulation of problems, the depth of their analysis, the sources used. The issue of the power transformation in the Far East is considered mainly within the framework of the concept of center-peripheral relations. The works of R. Valliant, F. Chang, S. Davis, and others reveals Moscow's policy to control the region and tactics of regional leaders trying to reduce this control. The authors describe such relations in close connection with the development of federalism in the RF and its “asymmetry”. The publications reflect the evolution of the regional political elite, the change of types of governors - from “humanitarians” to “industrialists” and representatives of political parties, describe the political portraits of the Far Eastern governors, much attention is paid to the criminalization of power (R. Orttung, etc.). A special type of regional power is highlighted by experts in connection with the victory of three “resource oligarchs” in the 2000 gubernatorial elections, inclu ding R. Abramovich in Chukotka, that is estimated in the publications as an “administrative revolution”, the transition to corporate governance, in which all branches of power in the region are concentrated in the hands of representatives of a large resource corporation (N. Thompson, D. Anderson).