Models of organization of municipal authorities in modern Russia: the legal framework and regional practice

A number of federal laws passed in 2014-2015 set different methods of forming municipal authorities in local territories, which enable selecting multiple models of public-power relations. They can differ in the method of forming a representative body (through direct election or delegation) and by the process of the appointment of senior officials - the head of the municipality and the chief executive of municipal administration (elections or contract). According to federal laws, the right to determine the model of local government unit level is delegated to regional legislatures, and its charter fixes the structure of bodies in a particular municipality. Currently, the regions prefer those ways of organizing bodies of the municipal government and its top officials, which minimize the participation of the population, and replace them with a system of delegation.