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Abstract
In both Russia and Ukraine the regional factor has had a major impact on political processes.' In Ukraine the significance of this factor derives from historical and cultural differences within the Ukrainian ethnic community. At the same time, the relatively compact nature of the country hinders a clear division of the republic's political elite into a Kiev elite and a regional elite: each representative of the central elite is also a lobbyist for a particular region. In Russia, meanwhile, the importance of the regional factor rests primarily on the country's multiethnic composition. Multiethnicity encouraged a division of powers between the center and the regions and steered the country's development onto the rails of federalism: today's Russian federalism was a reaction to the spontaneous sovereignization of the national republics.2 An essential role is also played by the size of the Russian state, which makes central control relatively weak and enables regional elites to enjoy relative freedom of action according to the proverb "God is in His heaven, and the tsar is far away," although this role is different from the state's role in Ukraine. Therefore, the line between central and regional elites in Russia is much more clearly drawn than in its western neighbor.