Public Administration Reform and Building of the 'Vertical of Power' in Russia: Exploring Incommensurability

The dissertation explores the reform of Russian public administration that began in 2003. Although, it was considered by the ruling elite as one of the most important political projects that should establish a necessary fundament for further socio-economic modernization of the country, the reform has not yet resulted in significant improvement of governance in the country. The dissertation investigates the conceptual inconsistency of the model of reform, based on the New Public Management approach, and the nature of political process in Russia, established during the presidency of Vladimir Putin and named building the ‘vertical of power’.