The Federation Council and Representation of Regional Interests

The Federation Council, the upper chamber of the Russian parliament (also referred to as the "senate,") plays a number of different roles. It is an instrument for reconciling the interests of regional and federal elites and for lobbying regional interests. It is a political tribune for regional leaders to address the president, the government and the people. It is a new kind of meeting for the party and administrative elite (partkhozaktiv, like the CPSU Plenum of the past) to discuss the situation in the country and to present the leadership a view from the localities and vice versa. It is a club where regional leaders meet once a month to share their perspectives and experiences, to listen to a "clever guy from the government," and to complain. Finally, it is a forum for regional elite to promenade and demonstrate at the federal level.