Bystrova A., Daugavet A., Duka A., Kolesnik N., Nevskiy A., Tev D. Institutsionalizatsiya politicheskoy elity: istochniki rekrutirovaniya i kar’yera [Institutionalization of the political elite: sources of recruitment and career]. Vlast’ i elity [Power and Elites], 2019, 6 (2), pp. 24–66.

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Abstract

The article is devoted to the problem of institutionalization of the political elite that still remains a poorly studied subject in Russian elite studies. Despite the fact that the institute of representative power of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation has been functioning for a long time the question of the stability and reproduction of this power group and its main socio-structural characteristics remains. The idea that the process of institutionalization is problematic provided that the context of the recruitment and functioning of the political elite, affecting its social characteristics, changes significantly in the post-soviet period is postulated. It is shown that the institutionalization of the political elite has several dimensions. The paradox of the institutions of power lies in the complementary unity of the three aspects of their existence: democratic, professional meritocratic and societal hierarchical. The article substantiates the significance of the study of the socio-professional pool of recruitment and career of the regional political elite: firstly, the results obtained can quite definitely indicate the direction and stage of institutionalization of power groups. Secondly, the characteristics of the recruitment and political careers can serve as an important indicator of the structure of social and political power. An analysis of foreign and Russian studies confirms a significant relationship between certain characteristics of socio-professional background and career, on the one hand, and political attitudes and behavior, on the other. Numerous studies of European and American elites note the relative closeness of this community and the existing relationship between social origin and the ability to reproduce their high social positions. Significant factors and indicators of integration of various functional segments of the elite are considered separately: dynamic interweaving between them, which is created by career transitions of persons from one power group to another. The analysis of scientific literature on the transformation of the Russian elite shows a clear connection with previous power groups. Researchers convincingly demonstrate that in the first decade of “new” Russia, it was the previous nomenclature of various levels that retained commanding heights in the political and administrative sphere, important changes were recorded in both the recruitment mechanisms and the elite recruitment pool. In this regard, the work of researchers of the first post-soviet decade is a kind of scientific evidence of the historical evolution of domestic elites. In later works by Russian researchers of elites, the characteristics of the recruitment pool for members of the regional political elite, gender and educational differences, depending on the position in the hierarchy of the legislative assembly (ordinary deputies and leaders), and factional affiliation are studied. Special attention in the scientific literature was given to representatives of the highest, leading stratum of the regional deputy corps. In conclusion, the prospects for an institutional approach in the study of elite groups are substantiated.