The objective of this thesis is to examine the nature of federal bargaining in post-Soviet Russia by comparing Moscow&rsquo / s negotiations with Russia&rsquo / s two oil-rich republics in the Middle Volga: Tatarstan and Bashkortostan. In particular, the thesis attempts to explain how Bashkortostan was able to gain autonomy from Moscow that is very close to the level of autonomy enjoyed by Tatarstan, despite the fact that Bashkortostan is clearly in a disadvantageous position when compared to Tatarstan and the Bashkorts form only the third largest ethnic group in the Republic after the Russians and the Tatars. The central hypothesis of this thesis is that sometimes the relatively disadvantageous party in federal bargaining might be given more autonomy not because of its bargaining power, but because of the general bargaining strategy of the federal center. Therefore this thesis is an attempt to understand how Moscow, fearing that Tatarstan might emerge as the hegemonic power in the Middle Volga, sought to strengthen the position of Bashkortostan against Tatarstan, and how the success of the Bashkort political elite to manipulate the weaknesses of Moscow in the post-Soviet arena provided Bashkortostan with more or less same degree of autonomy compared to that of Tatarstan&rsquo / s.

This paper deals with the implementation of SaaS in the Russian market, especially in the Ural region of the Russian Federation -- Republic of Bashkortostan. SaaS is usually considered as an alternative way for the dominant model of software installation at the customer office. SaaS has certain key differences related to the use of different types of outsourcing and switching from buying products for permanent use to the system with subscription fee, depending on the specific use of resources. The goal of the theoretical part of the paper is to construct the comprehensive picture of Cloud computing, cloud services especially SaaS, to identify the strengths and weaknesses of SaaS technology, call attention to issues of risk, safety, the process of deployment, focus on the analysis of the status of SaaS information systems in the world and analyze situation on the Russian market. The goal of the theoretical part of the paper is to get acquainted with the companies in the Ural region of the Russian Federation, the Republic of Bashkortostan, to show their attitude to cloud-based technologies, highlight the exploration and use of SaaS in the Republic of Bashkortostan, compare the current situation in Russian enterprises with the status of SaaS in the world. By questionnaire survey I will obtain basic data of the awareness and use of SaaS in this region of Russia. The expected benefits of work may include extending the knowledge of readers about Cloud computing and one of its services - the form of SaaS. Next benefit is that Czech managers and directors can use this paper during the decision on the implementation of this model in their business.

"Pseudodemokratie in Rußland" untersucht den Prozeß der Herausbildung regionaler politischer Institutionen in Rußland nach 1990. Die Arbeit geht dabei der Frage nach, welche Faktoren die Entstehung nicht-demokratischer Strukturen in den russischen Regionen ermöglicht haben. Empirische Grundlage der Untersuchung ist eine ausführliche Fallstudie der Republik Baschkortostan, die als eines der autoritärsten regionalen Regime in Rußland gilt. Als Schlüssel zur Erklärung des politisch-institutionellen Wandels wird die Rolle informeller Institutionen (Netzwerke, Verpflichtungsbeziehungen) und überkommener Strukturen aus dem alten System herausgestellt. Die Arbeit wendet sich damit einem in der Transformations- und Demokratisierungsforschung bislang zu wenig beachteten Problem zu, das indes sowohl demokratietheoretisch als auch reformpolitisch von entscheidender Bedeutung ist: Wie ist es zu erklären, daß selbst dort, wo Demokratisierung das Gebot der Stunde zu sein scheint, bloß pseudodemokratische, ihrem Wesen nach eher autoritäre Regime nicht nur entstehen, sondern sich sogar konsolidieren können? Im Unterschied zu Deutungen, die Demokratiedefizite pauschal kulturellen Mängeln zuschreiben oder sich auf den deskriptiven Verweis auf Elitenkontinuität beschränken, rückt diese Arbeit funktionale Gründe für die Bestandsfähigkeit eines autoritär-patrimonialen Regimes in der Vordergrund. Pseudodemokratien, so die zentrale These, können durchaus stabil sein, sofern sie in Zeiten raschen sozialen Wandels für wesentliche Teile der Elite zur Reduktion von Unsicherheit beitragen und ihnen gegenüber leistungsfähig sind. / "Pseudo-Democracy in Russia" analyses the emergence of regional political institutions in Russia after 1990. The study aims to explain which factors were instrumental in bringing about non-democratic structures in the Russian regions. Empirically, the analysis is based on an in-depth case study of the Republic of Bashkortostan which is widely regarded as one of the most authoritarian regional regimes in Russia. As key to explaining the particular way political institutions changed, the study highlights the role of informal institutions (such as networks of mutual commitment) as well as structural legacies of the old system. It addresses an almost neglected problem of transition and democratisation research which, at the same time, is of great importance for both democratisation theory and the design of reform policies: How is it possible that in an environment where democratisation seems to be the order of the day pseudo-democratic regimes that have more in common with authoritarianism than with democracy can not only emerge but even consolidate? In contrast to interpretations which account democratic deficits wholesale to cultural deficiencies or refer rather generally to elite continuity, this study stresses functional reasons for the stability of an authoritarian patrimonial regime. The central argument is that pseudo-democracies can be stable if in times of rapid social change they contribute toward a reduction of uncertainty for significant parts of the elite and remain able to deliver benefits to them.