The new political and cultural elite

Abstract

This article introduces the political leaders and opinion makers who came to power after the "velvet revolutions" in Hungary, Poland, and Russia. Who are these people? In the photographs taken during the first few, ecstatic months after the breakdown of the communist regime, we see the faces of middle-aged men, full of youthful anticipation. They seem to be aware that they were entrusted with the dreams of millions improving living standards, achieving political sovereignty, freedom of speech, religion, and civil association, more goods on the shelves, shorter queues, access to MTV, and shedding the negative connotations of the term "Eastern" in describing their geographic location in Europe. In this article, we describe this group in terms of their family backgrounds, political affiliations, credentials, and their past appearances in positions of authority. In painting this picture, we hope to assess the extent of the changes in the upper echelons of power, which, we expect is indicative of the institutional changes that have and will in the future influence the character of the new regimes themselves.