Trainees, trainers and the training of trainers: Reform of local administration in Russia

Power at the centre of the Russian state is divided, weak and lacking in legitimacy although management in the regions, while formally bureaucratic, also depends for its effectiveness on relationships of patronage and exchange of favours. In these circumstances, the design and implementation of a reform programme for the civil service is a brave endeavour, and one which is likely to be protracted and punctuated by setbacks. Paradoxically, although there is acknowledged to be a great need for training and retraining, there are also large obstacles to applying the new knowledge and skills. This predicament is compounded by deficiencies in the provision for training. These inauspicious conclusions have implications for strategies of technical assistance and, in particular, the danger that such initiatives unintentionally become part of the problem rather than its solution. The article draws upon three visits by the author to Western Siberia as part of two EU TACIS projects.