Development of forms of direct democracy in the process of nationalization of local self-government

This research deals with the changes related to ongoing reform of local government in Russia. In recent years, there has been an increasing desire in the Russian Federation for a stronger involvement of the government in local governance. This has manifested itself in a trend towards centralizing control over local government operations and limiting their autonomy. One approach is the enactment of more laws governing the activities of local authorities, as well as the expansion of the powers of government agencies at the regional level. This also includes closer monitoring of municipal finances and enhanced scrutiny of their spending. Based on the study of the regulatory framework of recent years, which regulates the forms of direct democracy, the author of this article gives examples of changes, identifies possible reasons for their introduction, using a diachronic approach of comparison.