The impact of modernization on the levels of electoral and party contestation in Russian regions

This study examines the impact of modernization on the levels of electoral and party contestation in Russia's 85 regions. By employing cluster and regression analysis, our study shows that modernization does have a positive impact on the degrees of political pluralism in Russia's regions. This applies not only to simple tools reflecting the levels of region-wide support for pluralism and a multiparty system, from the general population, but also the levels of support from the regional political elites. The study demonstrates that, the level of entrepreneurial activity is the main factor, which influences the levels of political pluralism.