The structure of federal executive bodies in most countries of the world where a federal administrative-territorial structure has been established is determined by the constitution and therefore does not depend on the results of parliamentary and presidential elections. Such independence is achieved mainly due to the fact that at the legislative level the functions of the state bureaucracy (the system of ministerial or federal control) are divided and, in fact, the political administration, which changes depending on the election results. At the same time, federal executive bodies are understood to mean ministries that have been delegated the functions of determining the principles of policy in a particular area of the economy, control and monitoring functions, as well as the authority to conduct analytical and research work. Simply put, we are talking about the structure of the federal government, the politics of the party whose program won the current parliamentary and / or presidential election.
The structure of the federal executive bodies of the Russian Federation is determined by slightly different principles. Firstly, given that Russia is a presidential republic, the structure of political dominance is dependent on the results of the election of the head of state and may vary depending on the goals and objectives of the policy pursued by him. It is clear that the goals and objectives themselves are not constant and can be adjusted both throughout the entire election cycle (presidential, parliamentary elections) and depending on the domestic political situation. Moreover, the bureaucratic management system is one of the key components of politics. Secondly, the very structure of federal executive bodies includes both ministries and departments (federal government) and their local representations (regional departments), as well as a set of state-owned companies and firms that implement government contracts and are subordinate to their “own” ministry . Such a complex system has been preserved since the Soviet times and practically has not changed in the last 20 years.
The modern structure of the federal executive bodies in general is defined by two documents - the corresponding decrees of the President of the Russian Federation of 08.22.1998 and from 16.10.2001. The proposed model of political power can be assessed as hierarchical:
- The federal government, which includes 24 ministries;
- Ministries (as separate political and administrative structures);
- State committees (a total of 10, have ministerial powers);
- Federal commissions (3 structural units, serve as a kind of “link” between the Government and Parliament);
- federal services (15 autonomous structures not formally included in the Government, but with the powers of ministries);
- national agencies (9 structural units responsible for the development of strategic programs);
- Federal structures (reporting to the President of the Russian Federation). We are talking about the so-called "power" bloc of the Government - the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the FSB, the Ministry of Defense, etc. In other words, the structure of the federal executive bodies presupposes a presidential bloc, which includes 16 ministries and departments. However, given that the personal composition of the government does not depend on the results of parliamentary elections and is appointed by decrees of the head of state, the current model of state power is de facto completely subordinate to the President of the Russian Federation.
It is interesting that the powers of local self-government are regulated by the relevant law, but are not clearly defined, although they are administratively subordinate to regional (republican) structures. In this regard, some analysts are forced to talk about regional administrations or local authorities, financially and politically dependent on the federal center.