Russian Elite Research Articles

Королівська елекція 1764 р. в Речі Посполитій: зовнішньополітичний аспект

Background : The article considers the royal election of Stanislaw Poniatowski and Russian influence on it. The election marked the beginning of the processes that led to the Commonwealth’s loss of autonomy in the international affairs. The simplistic or stereotypical representation of Russia’s role in the royal election of 1764 can often be found in the contemporary historiography. The reasons of appointing Stanislaw August as a Russian protege to be the head of the Commonwealth are frequently mythologized. In particular, it is often noted that Stanislaw August was chosen as a favorable candidate by the Russian elite groups only because he was Catherine II’s favorite. But this approach does not take into account the other factors. Focusing on Russian historical sources can show us the position of the Russian Empire before and during the election. The specific character of the sources and their belonging to the so-called "behind-the-scenes documents" make them very important for the investigation of Russian methods of the foreign policy. Concentration exclusively on the analysis of the Russian documents in the study of the described problem allows to fully understand the position, plans and motives of the Russian Empire. The researchers have indirectly discussed the methods and tools which were used by the Russian Empire while meddling in the elections. These methods and tools have been also analyzed in the research with a vaster subject of study. Therefore, it makes sense to allocate and examine the methods and tools of the Russian influence more clearly, as well as make an objective assessment of them. Purpose : basing on the Russian historical sources, to investigate the policy of the Russian Empire regarding the Commonwealth, particularly the intentions, methods and instruments of the Russian interference in the royal election of 1764. Results : I would like to point out that the Russian Empire played a key role in the process of electing Stanislaw August as a monarch of the Commonwealth. "Familia" was in disagreement with the pro-Saxon nobility and had an ambition to gain more power within the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Catherine II also tried to make the king her own puppet on the Polish throne. The methods, tools and purposes of Russian policy regarding the Commonwealth during the royal election of 1764 have been researched and classified. The historical sources of the Collection of the Imperial Russian Historical Society have been analyzed from the point of view of the informational value. Key words : Stanislaw August, election, Russian Empire, Commonwealth, Catherine II.

О ПРОБЛЕМАХ СОВРЕМЕННОЙ РОССИЙСКОЙ ПОЛИТИЧЕСКОЙ ЭЛИТЫ И ВОЗМОЖНЫХ НАПРАВЛЕНИЯХ ИХ РАЗРЕШЕНИЯ

The authors aimed to conduct a study of the current state and prospects for the development of elitology in Russia, and to identify the public perception of political leaders, which is necessary for federal and regional elites and for improving the efficiency of the state personnel policy, mechanisms for interaction of elites in the social-political space and, thus, for increasing the transparency of power. The authors rely on the political, historical-legal, formal-legal, and structural-functional analytical approaches. Based on the results of the panel expert surveys conducted during the First All-Russian Elitological Congress “Elitology of Russia: The Current State and Prospects for the Development” (2013, Rostov-on-Don) and the Second All-Russian Elitological Congress “Elitology and Strategies for the Development of Contemporary Russia” (2016, Rostov-on-Don), the authors reconstruct the general perception of Russian elites by the expert com-munity, and the dynamics of changes in the elite group; identify the public estimates of today’s regional political elites, and a discrepancy between elitism in the traditional sense and the real political power. The comparison of the results of the panel surveys conducted in 2013 and 2016 allowed to combine the findings in the groups: general perception of the Russian elites and the reliability of information about them; estimates of the dynamics of qualitative changes in the elites; measures to promote the development of inter-elite interaction and leadership. The authors made the following conclusions: both public and expert opinions underestimate the elite capital of the ruling groups; there are system symptoms of oligarchization of the elites that tend to use non-democratic means of holding power; there is an obvious task of changing the approaches to assessing and recruiting elites in the current social-political situation in Russia; in 2017, the Russian society is at the crossroads, and the choice of the direction for further development is com-plicated by the destructive impact of the aggressive global elites pursuing their own interests that con-tradict Russia’s national interests.

The trial of the Decembrists as an indicator of consolidation of the Russian elite

The trial of the Decembrists as an indicator of consolidation of the Russian elite

Russian Media in the Digital Age: Propaganda Rewired

This article reflects on the role of media in the Russian Federation through the concept of “rewired propaganda.” The approach highlights how the Russian regime copes with challenges to its information hegemony in the digital age. The study employs two critical case studies to examine the Russian political communication sphere: the 2011–12 election protests and the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 by a Russian missile in 2014. The article argues that a key vector of analysis is understanding strategic narrative as the critical measurement of media control. The findings suggests that it is not so much who owns or controls the media that is key to understanding information control; rather, it is knowing who is constructing and disseminating the most compelling national narrative that holds the key to power in Russia. This focus on rewired propaganda and recasting of the debate will permit an analysis of the role of the media in the post-Soviet state even as the overall media environment has shifted with the advent of the digital age. On balance, the two case studies demonstrate that Russian elites have continued to adapt to growing challenges, showing an ability to use many facets of communication to consolidate an information dominance over citizens.

Formation of the Institute of Youth Political Elite in the Context of Political Transformation in the Russian Federation

The article discusses the features of the formation of the institute of youth political elite in the Russian Federation. The author proved that the formation of youth political elites directly dependent on the fulfillment of opportunities and professional development of representatives of the youth community and requires a systematic campaign in the formation of the young man and his political socialization. Revealed aspects in the context of which it is necessary to consider the formation of the institute of youth political elite: the socio-economic, political, cognitive. Proposed key methods and forms of interaction between state institutions with the younger generation. The conditions, the implementation of which is necessary for the formation of the institute of youth political elites in Russia: the current administrative and managerial elite has to be aware of the need to create such an elite institution for young people; the existence of regulatory and organizational methods of the activities of youth leaders; a reflection of the youth leader action together communicative interactions; subject-object position of the individual in the current political process of socialization; foster civic political culture, "foundation" which are the concepts of citizenship and patriotism. In conclusion, it is concluded that the development of the political system of education and the building of the Institute of Youth elites should be based on scientific and sociological studies of actual data, reflecting the dynamics of the youth mentality and preferences. A special attention on the part of government actors should be given new urgency to inclusion of young people in the processes of formation of state policy.

Правящая элита России 1725-1762 гг.: массовые источники биографического характера и методика их анализа

Правящая элита России 1725-1762 гг.: массовые источники биографического характера и методика их анализа

Impact of the Imperial State Tradition on Modernization in Contemporary Russia

The article explains the influence of imperial state tradition on the substance, direction and purpose of the modernization in contemporary Russia. One of the key factors of the imperial nature of the Russian statehood is the historically formed imperial consciousness of Russian elites and Russians as the dominant ethnic group, which is being constantly reproduced. Contemporary Russia pursues a strategy of defensive modernization that aims at overcoming the military-technical gap between Russia and the advanced Western countries. The Russian leadership has neither conducted nor planned modernization of the Russian state and political system on the basis of the principles of the real non-controllable democracy. It is shown that successful technological, economic, and especially political modernization is impossible without changing the socio-political model established in modern Russia.

An Enlightened path towards conservatism: critical junctures and changing elite perceptions in early nineteenth-century Russia

This article explores the historical roots of Russian conservatism by analyzing the evolution of Russia’s Westernized, Enlightenment-minded nobility to a conservative segment of Russian society in the early nineteenth century. The events of 1789 and 1812 were critical junctures that made the Russian nobility painfully aware of their own deep level of Westernization. The article first describes the reverberations of the French Revolution among the Russian elite. It also discusses the internal and external scrutiny of Russia’s relations with France under Napoleon, which made Russian conservatism a contingency. It then describes the evolution between 1789 and 1812 of a corpus of conservative ideas ranging from traditionalism to ardent patriotism and xenophobia. Napoleon’s 1812 campaign against Russia overshadowed the generational gap and diverging political and literary preferences among the elite. The reaction to it illustrates the intrinsic duality of the Russian elite: culturally Westernized, yet politically conservative. Yet the influence of several Western defenders of the ancien régime on Russia’s conservatives shows that the essentially conservative Russian identity as propagated by Putin these days originally might have been more pan-European than purely Russian.

Russia’s Participation in International Environmental Cooperation

While environmental issues attract growing interest all over the world Russia has kept aside from this trend for a long time. Its participation in international environmental cooperation has always been determined primarily by the external policy’s objectives. In Soviet times, participation in global environmental initiatives was a channel of collaboration with the West. In the 1990s, it was a means of integration into the international community and one of the major areas of cooperation with the US. In the 2000s, Russia used the environmental agenda for gaining trade-offs from Western partners along with attraction of foreign investment. At present, the understanding of possibilities to reap benefits from the country’s natural capital is strengthening among Russian political and business elites. As a result, Russia’s involvement in international environmental cooperation may stir up in the near future.

Russia’s Pivot to Asia: Myth or Reality?

The article discusses the changes in Russia’s policy towards Asia, arguing that Russia’s pivot to Asia is a reality, one that is motivated by both political and economic interests. And although that shift is not progressing as quickly as some might want and occasionally encounters difficulties, the process has definitely begun and is in all likelihood irreversible. Only a small, marginal segment of Russian society continues to dream of unity with Europe—which itself has entered a period of severe crisis. Most of the Russian elite as well as the majority of Russian citizens understand that nobody is waiting for them with open arms. Therefore, not wanting a confrontation and in an effort to maintain working relations, Russia—under any leader—is unlikely to seek a relationship based on a common outlook. That will move Russia ever closer to the non-Western world, primarily the Asian giants.

Derek Offord, Lara Ryazanova‑Clarke, Vladislav Rjeoutski, Gesine Argent, eds., French and Russian in Imperial Russia, V

This two‑volume collection derives from a symposium held at the Princess Dashkova Russian Center of the University of Edinburgh during the summer of 2012. It includes twenty‑four articles of original research by scholars from several countries, as well as introductory and concluding essays by the editors, one of each per volume. The overarching focus is the place of French in the culture, speech, writing, and thinking among the educated Russian elites during approximately the first century an...

О зрелости власти и ее первоочередных задачах в России

О зрелости власти и ее первоочередных задачах в России

MISFORTUNES OF THE TWO IGORS: WHY SCANDALS MAY BE IN THE OFFING FOR RUSSIAN ELITE

MISFORTUNES OF THE TWO IGORS: WHY SCANDALS MAY BE IN THE OFFING FOR RUSSIAN ELITE

A Trial in Absentia: Purifying National Historical Narratives in Russia

This study explores contemporary Russian memory politics, and analyzes the ideological underpinnings of the 2011 Moscow court verdict that criminalized a Ukrainian scholarly publication, accusing it of inciting ethnic, racial, national, social, and religious hatred. This accusation is examined in the context of Russia’s attempts to control the official historical narrative. Special attention is paid to the role of Russian cultural and democratic civic institutions, such as the Moscow library of Ukrainian literature and Memorial, in the micro-history of this publication. Deconstructing the judicial reaction of Russian lawmakers toward the Ukrainian publication, the study analyzes the Russian political elite’s attitudes toward the “Ukrainian” historical interpretations of Stalin’s terror and other aspects of common Soviet history, and demonstrates the interconnectedness of the preceding Soviet and modern Russian methods of control over education, history, and culture. Language and legislation play an important role in Russian memory politics that shape the popular historical imagination and camouflage the authoritarian methods of governing in Russia. The case of the Ukrainian publication is contextualized by examining the cult of chekism and the discursive significance of anti-Ukrainianism, salient elements in Russian memory politics that have transcended national borders.

Offord, Derek; Ryazanova-Clarke, Lara; Rjéoutski, Vladislav and Argent, Gesine (eds) French and Russian in Imperial Russia. Volume 1: Language Use Among the Russian Elite Offord, Derek; Ryazanova-Clarke, Lara; Rjéoutski, Vladislav and Argent, Gesine (eds) French and Russian in Imperial Russia. Volume 2: Language Attitudes and Identity (review)

REVIEWS 511 ~ xto spodivaitcja (K) ‘that put their trust [in him]’ (p. 178), spasennje (M) ~ spasennja (K) ‘salvation’ (p. 178), peščera (M) ~ pečera (K) ‘cave’ (p. 185), čystyj (M) ~ ščyryj (K) ‘righteous’ (p. 185), čudesa (M) ~ dyva (K) ‘wondrous works’ (p. 186); some long-naturalized (regional) Polonisms are also changed with ‘more’ vernacular forms of the type kotryj (M) ~ jakyj (K) ‘which’ (p. 180) and papir (M) ~ bomaha (K) ‘[the volume of the] book’ (p. 183); one can also add here a northern Ukrainian form typical of the previous literary tradition — pljundrovaty (M) next to modern pljundruvaty (K) ‘to plunder’ (p. 188). No doubt, the translation of Moračevs’kyj is a true trove of data reflecting the vagaries of the formation of new standard Ukrainian, including its high style. Yet this process would have appeared more nuanced had the authors of the introduction placed the creation of the Ukrainian Psalter in the wider context of similar translations made not only before Moračevs’kyj but also after him. In this regard, one should mention Pantelejmon Kuliš whose first paraphrases of Psalms 1 and 13 appeared in 1868, and Oleksandr Navroc’kyj and Volodymyr Aleksandrov who paraphrased the Psalter, under the influence of Kuliš, in the 1880s. Needless to say, publication of their works in the future would complement the edition of the pioneering translation made by Moračevs’kyj in 1865 and prepared for publication by Hnatenko 150 years later. Department of Modern Languages and Cultures Andrii Danylenko Pace University Offord, Derek; Ryazanova-Clarke, Lara; Rjéoutski, Vladislav and Argent, Gesine (eds). French and Russian in Imperial Russia. Volume 1: Language Use Among the Russian Elite. Russian Language and Society. Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh, 2015. xviii + 270 pp. Figures. Tables. Notes. Bibliographies. Index. £75.00. Offord, Derek; Ryazanova-Clarke, Lara; Rjéoutski, Vladislav and Argent, Gesine (eds). French and Russian in Imperial Russia. Volume 2: Language Attitudes and Identity. Russian Language and Society. Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh, 2015. xviii + 266 pp. Illustrations. Notes. Bibliographies. Index. £75.00. In January 1868, suffering from a periodic inflammation of the eye, P. A. Valuev, soon to be deposed as Alexander II’s Minister of Internal Affairs, was obliged to dictate his diary to his wife. Whereas he habitually recorded his thoughts in Russian, she preferred to write in French. Depressed by developments in St Petersburg and pessimistic about the state of Russian morals, the aloof Europeanized statesman was prompted to reflect, not for the first time, that it was ‘not natural’ that French should have become ‘more or less’ the SEER, 94, 3, july 2016 512 most influential language in Russian society: ‘Le chinois nous conviendrait beaucoup mieux.’ What motivated individual language choices in imperial Russia? And what can such choices tell us about the formation, consolidation and fragmentation of personal, social and national identities? Though isolated attempts have been made to answer such questions in the past, the subject has never been tackled in the concerted way represented by these two selfstanding but complementary volumes. Remarkably, the effort has finally been made neither in Russia nor in France, but in Britain, where a conference on ‘Enlightened Russian’, organized by Lara Ryazanova-Clarke at the University of Edinburgh in 2012, provided one of the sources for these books. The other was the Arts and Humanities Research Council project on ‘The History of the French Language in Russia’, led by Derek Offord at the University of Bristol with the collaboration of the remaining two editors. Though he generously acknowledges the extent to which this was a collective enterprise, Offord was clearly its guiding mind. Not the least of his contributions has been to translate more than a third of the twenty-four essays that comprise these two richly rewarding volumes. Written by an international cast of authors, ranging from doctoral candidates to senior scholars, the essays probe an impressively wide variety of published and unpublished materials. Beginning with a general consideration of the use of French and Russian in Catherine II’s Russia (Derek Offord, Gesine Argent and Vladislav Rjéoutski), the first volume goes on to discuss the empress’s letters to Grimm (Georges Dulac), language use by the Stroganovs...

Robinson, Paul Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich, Supreme Commander of the Russian Army (review)

SEER, 94, 3, july 2016 552 they believed Eurasia represented. This is why, she argues, their approach should be seen as a form of geographical ideology. Finally, Stefan Wiederkehr looks at how Karl Popper’s activist concept of historicism helps us understand the core of Eurasianism’s philosophy. Chapters six to eight explore the beliefs of three leading Eurasianists. Whilst Martin Beissenger investigates the religious and economic underpinnings of Savitskii’s concept of Eurasianism, Igor Torbakov attributes Vernadskii’s historical revisions, beginning with 1917 to his search for national identity, to his Ukrainian roots and state of exile. Harsha Ram poses a possible nexus between Velimir Khlebnikov’s futurist vision of a common linguistic space centred in Russia and Roman Jakobson’s concept of the ‘Eurasian linguistic alliance’ and the extent to which this distanced him from the original intention of the Russian symbolist movement (p. 147). In the last two chapters Hama Yukiko investigates Eurasianism’s influence on Japan’s pan-Asianism, whilst Mark Bassin focuses on the contemporary legacy of the Eurasianists, which is torn between Eurasian revisionists such as Lev Gumilev on one hand and increasingly radical positions taken by Russian nationalists on the other, and has resulted in the polemic and contradictory stance taken by Neo-Eurasianists such as Aleksandr Dugin. As Laruelle concludes in the Postface, the legacy of Eurasianism has been mired by neo-Eurasianists’ Russia-centric and highly opportunistic take on the philosophy of the 100-year-old movement. However, this ‘incredible incubator of ideas’ (p. 190) will likely remain a helpful framework for those trying to build a radically distinct and self-contained identity for the post-Soviet space. It will also likely resurface, however distorted and aleatory, whenever it suits the Russian elite to deploy the type of nationalistic discourse that supports their ambitions abroad, whilst assuaging the harsh economic reality at home. UCL SSEES V. Ceban Robinson, Paul. Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich, Supreme Commander of the Russian Army. Northern Illinois University Press, DeKalb, IL, 2014. ix + 435 pp. Maps. Illustrations. Notes. Bibliography. Index. $44.95. The Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich was a — literally — towering figure in the history of late Imperial Russia and of the First World War. As ‘Uncle Nikolasha’ he occupied a central place in the extended imperial family; he had an extremely close relationship with Emperor Nikolai II, although his interaction with all members of the family was not so consistently friendly. He also played an important, but more passive, role in the politics of the Russian REVIEWS 553 emigration, especially in the last years before his death in 1929. Readers owe a debt of gratitude to Paul Robinson for having produced such a thorough and readable biography of the man. While this book is academically rigorous and valuable to the historical specialist, the subject matter (the Russian court) and clarity of style make it attractive to a wider audience. The disparate stages of the Grand Duke’s life are traced here, and in a measured and balanced way; at each stage the author displays a high degree of expertise. There is the Grand Duke’s background and early military career; his involvement in the 1905–06 revolution, and then his service as a military reformer in the short-lived Council of State Defence. Above all there is his role as Supreme C-in-C of the Russian Army in the first months of the World War, before defeat in Poland and his ill-fated replacement by the Emperor himself. The Grand Duke’s time as Viceroy of the Transcaucasus in 1915–17 has echoes in more recent events. Perhaps surprisingly he played virtually no part in the 1917 Revolution, the Civil War or the first years of the emigration. Although generally providing a straightforward account of an unfolding life, Robinson is prepared to take issue with memoirists and other historians at key points in the Grand Duke’s career. For example, he defends his role as a military reformer at the turn of the century. He also clarifies his key decision, in October 1905, not to serve as a military dictator who would have supported by force the Emperor and the counter-revolution; instead he accepted...

The loyal editor effect: Russian online journalism after independence

This article investigates what effect pressure from owners – via loyal editors – had on journalistic output at the popular Russian online newspapers Lenta and Gazeta. Using novel methods to analyze a data-set of nearly 1 million articles from the period 2010–2015, this article separates the effect of a changing news agenda from new editorial priorities. Statistical tests show that changes in output coincide temporally with editorial change, and that the direction of change sees new editors move away from publication patterns associated with other independent outlets. In both Gazeta and Lenta, editorial changes were accompanied by a move away from core news areas such as domestic and international politics, toward lifestyle and human interest subjects. The loyal editor effect resulted in a 50% reduction in coverage of controversial legal proceedings, together with the business dealings of Russian elites.

French and Russian in Imperial Russia: v.1: Language use among the Russian elite

French and Russian in Imperial Russia: v.1: Language use among the Russian elite

Cultural Statecraft in the Russian and Chinese Contexts: Domestic and International Implications

This article examines Russian and Chinese cultural statecraft as a component of domestic and foreign policy. I argue that Russian and Chinese political elites view cultural statecraft first and foremost as a domestic priority that is directed toward the elaboration of a legitimating narrative for the regime. This process is generated in response to both domestic and international factors and can be viewed as an attempt to provide an inoculating defense against the penetration of neoliberal Western values. At the same time, this effort leads to tendencies toward a cultural exceptionalism that constrains both states in their attempts to employ cultural themes as an element of a foreign policy strategy.

Panama Papers Leak Implicates Russian Ruling Elite

Panama Papers Leak Implicates Russian Ruling Elite