Within days of the appearance of his first decree on the subject, journalists and politicians – and some western news outlets – were speaking of the transformation of the Russian Federation into a unitary state. The demise of gubernatorial power was treated as an accomplished fact even before the president had unveiled his legislative proposals.
The press described Putin’s emerging new order as a highly centralised state, dominated by an expanded presidential administration – working closely with the security services – a reinvigorated federal government and a network of new governors-general drawn largely from the military and the security organs.
