Legislative initiatives of Russian regions at the federal level in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic

Introduction: The constituent entities of the Russian Federation have the right of legislative initiative at the federal level, which is an important element of the institutional system providing for regional participation in the governance of the entire country. The Russian regions are quite active in using this right, but there are significant cross-regional variations. The subject of the study is the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, interpreted as an external shock, on the use of this right by the Russian regions. Objectives: to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the use of the right of legislative initiative by Russian regions at the federal level in quantitative and thematic aspects. Methods: data collection and processing, creating a database on the use of the right of legislative initiative by Russian regions at the federal level, comparative analysis, descriptive statistics, correlation analysis. Results: based on the State Duma data on bills submitted by regions, two theoretical assumptions about the reduction in the number of bills and the change in their subject matter in the context of the pandemic were tested. Both assumptions were confirmed. The Russian regions have reduced their activity to a larger extent compared with other large entities (groups of entities) with the right of legislative initiative (RLI) – the Government of the Russian Federation, deputies of the State Duma, members of the Federation Council. However, unlike other entities entitled to RLI, their share in initiating socially oriented bills has increased sharply. Conclusions: despite the fact that the overall activity of regions in initiating federal laws has decreased, this activity remains important for them, as the external shock has not forced them to abandon it completely. At the same time, the results show that the regions have chosen different strategies for adapting to the crisis. While some of them have sharply reduced their activity due to changes in priorities and the redirection of resources, others, on the contrary, have increased their activity, primarily due to bills in the sphere of social policy (in a broad sense). Thus, the constituent entities of the Russian Federation use their right of legislative initiative at the federal level as a tool for practical solution of regional problems.