The system of state power in Russia is a rather complex system, and it is sometimes difficult for a simple layman to navigate among an abundance of respectable husbands endowed with broad powers. Who is the plenipotentiary, what are his functions, what documents govern his powers - all this will be described below.
Definition
According to the Constitution of the Russian Federation, two levels of government can be distinguished - regional and federal.
To ensure interaction between them, at one time it was decided to create the institution of special envoys of the head of state in the regions endowed with broad powers. To answer the question of who the authorized representative is, first of all, one should turn to the official definition. It is quite clearly disclosed in a special by-law.
The plenipotentiary of the president is primarily a government official appointed by the head of state and representing his interests in the federal district. In other words, this is an ordinary employee of the Presidential Administration, who has been delegated certain powers to work in the regions, designed to monitor the implementation of decrees and orders of the president on the ground.
Permanent Auditor
Moreover, the competence of the presidential envoy is limited to the functions of an observer. He can request any information, has access to all rooms, but personal initiative is limited.
He has no right to directly intervene in the work of regional authorities, being content only with his privilege of direct communication with the first person of the state. In general, the president’s envoy is his eyes, ears, but not his hands.
Nevertheless, in practice, things can be different, depending on the unspoken agreements between statesmen.
Background
Strictly speaking, the institution of a plenipotentiary representative is not specified in the Constitution, which clearly stipulates a balance between all three branches of government - executive, legislative and judicial. There is no federal law defining the authority of this official. All the activities of the plenipotentiary are attributed to one document - the Decree of the President.
The need for a kind of envoy of the head of state to the regions appeared with the formation of the Russian Federation as such. The liberal Constitution gave the regional rulers broad powers, making them largely independent of the federal center.
Accordingly, peculiar feudal feuds began to shake the young federal state, very often the initiatives of the governors contradicted the norms of federal laws, and the officials directly responsible for this drowned in routine and were limited by their special functions. To this end, an institute of plenipotentiaries was created in the regions, which were called together to help the president curb the omnipotent regional barons.
Reorganization
After the arrival of the new head of state at the turn of the century, the struggle for building a more solid vertical of power in Russia intensified. The whole country was divided into seven federal districts: Central, North-Western, Southern, Volga, Ural, Siberian, Far Eastern. Accordingly, the institute of regional representatives of the president was transformed into the institution of plenipotentiaries of the president in the federal districts.
With a naked eye, one could notice that when choosing the performers, the main stake was placed on representatives of law enforcement agencies. Five of the seven plenipotentiaries in the federal districts were associated with the army and special services.
This made it clear that, first of all, the center aims to restore the direct subordination of the regional power structures to Moscow, to weaken the influence of governors on territorial security officials. Prior to this, ordinary inhabitants did not even know who the envoy was, but now his role has increased.
The formal functions of these special envoys, who had vast territories at their disposal, were quite extensive, but in addition, according to experts, they were entrusted with a special political mission - influencing the election of governors in the districts entrusted to them.
Evolution
Over time, the unspoken functions of the plenipotentiaries changed. In 2004, the election of governors was canceled, which was the main victory of the Center to strengthen its influence on the ground. Accordingly, the role of plenipotentiaries, who were relieved of their informal function of “pushing through" the right candidate for the post of head of the region, slightly decreased.
In the period 2004-2008, the powers of the plenipotentiaries in the conduct of personnel policy steadily declined. From now on, they could participate in regional appointments of second-level officials, while during the presidency of Medvedev even these modest opportunities were curtailed.
Then the following scheme was introduced - the party that won the local elections is in charge of such issues.
Summing up, we can say that over the course of seventeen years, most of the tasks that the plenipotentiaries posed were completed. The local personnel policy almost completely came under the control of the center, law enforcement agencies were directly subordinated to Moscow, and regional laws were brought into line with federal ones.
Therefore, many are perplexed: who is the envoy, why is he needed? In today's conditions, his work is reduced to monitoring the situation, he plays the role of a permanent auditor.
Apparatus
The existence of plenipotentiaries is not provided for by the Constitution, is not determined by federal law. Their activities are regulated exclusively by the Decree of the President and other by-laws. The apparatus of the plenipotentiary is not as large as that of the governor. This is a simple employee of the Presidential Administration. The appointment of the plenipotentiary is the exclusive prerogative of the head of state, but the head of his administration offers the candidacy.
Accordingly, he cannot even independently appoint assistants and deputies, determine the size of their salaries. He must solve all personnel issues with his leadership in Moscow.
The representative is assisted by federal inspectors at various levels who monitor the situation in specific regions and inform their boss.
Functions
The Plenipotentiary has the right to make proposals on the promotion of regional and federal officials, as well as on the application of repressive measures against them. He is given exclusive access to information: the envoy has the right to request any information from federal and local authorities, through his representatives to attend meetings of the regional government (without interfering in their activities), and to use data banks.