Among the innovations included in the latest edition of the title are a brand new introductory essay, by Inga Saikkonen of the Åbo Akademi University, Finland, on Russian Federalism and Electoral Dynamics Since 1991. In addition to providing coverage of the development of central–regional relations in the post-Soviet period, the essay provides an analysis of the reforms ordered by outgoing President Dmitrii Medvedev in 2012 and implemented during that year, including the liberalization of registration requirements for political parties and the organization, in October, of the first gubernatorial elections for almost eight years, as well as an initial assessment of the return of Vladimir Putin to the federal presidency.

The 83 territorial surveys have been revised and updated to take account of the major political developments of the previous 12 months, up until January 2013. Notably, casualty figures for 2012, derived from a credible source based in the region, associated with the ongoing insurgency in the predominately Islamic republics of the North Caucasus, are included in each of the territories affected, alongside comparable figures for the previous year, alongside details of the major developments related to the insurgency.

Much of the statistical and economic data included in the book have been revised. The new edition includes population and inflation data for 2012, unemployment rates for 2011, with most other economic data being based upon official figures for 2010. Much of this data is otherwise unavailable in English, as are many of the news and information sources used to revise the territorial surveys. All of the content is updated and revised by our experienced team of editors and researchers.

This edition also includes several newly commissioned maps, to reflect the exchange of territories between Moscow City and Moscow Oblast that took place in July 2012, as a result of which the territory governed as the federal capital was substantially expanded, and to provide clearer coverage of the federal territories of St Petersburg City and its neighbor, Leningrad Oblast.

The indexes provided in previous editions in the title, listing the territories in alphabetical order, by Federal Okrug and by Economic Area, are complimented by a new index, listing more than 110 of the the principal cities of Russia, and detailing the territory in which each is located. The book also includes a gazetteer of selected alternative and historic names, and a list of territories abolished, created or reconstituted in the post-Soviet period.

The select bibliography provided has also been updated and revised to include books published in the last year dealing with Russia’s regions or federal structure.

The first edition of “The Territories of the Russian Federation” was published in 1999. Since 2001 it has been published annually. Over the years the title has evolved and expanded, and much of the content, including the territorial surveys and introductory essay, is available to subscribers of www.europaworld.com
 

Dominic Heaney - Editor