Abstract
Russia’s contemporary political trajectory is characterised by the consolidation of an authoritarian regime and a persistent concentration of power, reinforced through successive crises, including the ongoing war against Ukraine. These developments have been accompanied by large-scale human losses, widespread political repression, and the systematic weakening of constitutional safeguards, resulting in highly centralised governance structures. Against this background, urgent questions arise about how state institutions should be designed in the aftermath of authoritarian rule, particularly in balancing the risks of excessive centralisation and destabilising fragmentation. This contribution approaches federalism not as a static institutional arrangement, but as a dynamic process interacting with broader patterns of (de-)centralisation and (de-)democratisation. It seeks to develop a conceptual and methodological framework for analysing these processes across major historical periods of Russian state development, complemented by a comparative dimension. Rather than presenting a fully developed framework or definitive findings, the study identifies key conceptual questions and analytical directions that guide an ongoing doctoral research agenda. Ultimately, the project aims to contribute to understanding how federal arrangements can support democratic resilience in post-authoritarian contexts.