The necessity of forming responsible federation subjects should be recognized as a major condition for reintegration. In other words, the territories (represented by legislative authority and by the heads of administrations, not appointed by the President, but elected by the people, and also represented by the Presidents of Russia's and other republics) should be aware of their role as the subjects of an all-Russian political process. Only after this can we speak of some political actions which would result in signing the Federation Treaty.

The initiative for signing the present treaty came from the central authority. For signing the Federation Treaty, which would be genuinely effective, the initiative should come from the territories, and the central power should only regulate this process.

The problem is that the majority of the territories (those of Russia, to be more precise) do not have political awareness yet. The attention of regional authorities is drawn to the economic problems, and moreover - to the current problems, and they don't see the long term. It is unrealistic to expect that in the nearest future regional authorities (except for those of republics and national districts) will acquire political awareness. In any case, the problem should be formulated like this: what are the conditions in which such awareness can be moulded, and consequently, the subjects of a new federation will be formed? In what conditions will the regions wish to form a new federative treaty?

This is possible only if the authorities of the territories see the connection between their long-term economic interests and political interests. But to make this happen, it is necessary to realize long-term economic interests. Such realization is very difficult to achieve when directly solving the economic problems of the territories only, though, in this way or another, all the territories are touching upon a "high state policy" in the process of solving these problems. A revolution in the awareness of the intelligentsia of the capitals, its desire to work with regional authorities, help in drawing up (politically and legally) the regional authorities' demands, and a notion which the local administrative elite (which comprises not only executive and legislative authority, but also directors of enterprises, and business circles) formed from its own experience that it is impossible to solve the economic problems only by reacting to the situation, will facilitate this realization. A necessity to ensure long-term economic

stability will develop within the local elites. In such a situation the question of participation of the territories in the politics will arise, as politics in such a situation will be understood as a condition for ensuring the economic stability.

The links of the local political elite (legislative and executive authorities) with directors of enterprises and business circles will become a major precondition for such realization. Such links in the regions (though not in all of them) do exist, the matter is only in realization of political interests.

The terms in which the new subjects of the federation can be formed are not defined. But if it is difficult to answer the question about the concrete terms, it is at least possible to point out the facts which can facilitate such formation. From our point of view, there exist three major factors:

- the degree of acuteness of the economic crisis and the realization of such by the local administrative elite; - the degree to which the significance of a new federative entity is realized by the intellectual elite of the country; - the speed with which a federalist political party or a public movement is formed.

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