Russian Political Elite Research Articles

Номенклатурные корни российской элиты: 30 лет спустя

The article is devoted to understanding the origins of the Russian political elite. Relying on the empirical material of 2021, the authors study whether social ties in the Soviet managing class called “nomenklatura” is an important factor determining the position within the top echelon of the Russian political elite. In order to explore the genesis of the Russian political elite, we used a cross-methodological approach as well as the research method based on tracking their social origin. Our empirical basis is an original database for identifying elites including two elite lists, positional and reputational ones. The positional list for our analysis includes 112 personalities who hold positions in power structures provided with significant influence at the beginning of August 2021. The reputation list for analysis includes 100 personalities, based on the widely cited expert model “Politburo 2.0”. To set up the connection between the current Russian political elite and the social group known to us as the Soviet “nomenklatura”, we use the combined method. The “nomenklatura” heritage rating given for career, family and educational environment we assigned and summarized. Based on the results of the study, the following results were reached: as for the positional list, 59 out of 112 personalities (52.6%) are related to the Soviet nomenclature (total ratings of 2 and above), as for the reputation list - 50 out of 100 (50%). Based on a descriptive comparative analysis of two independent lists, we conclude that at least a half of contemporary elite actors have this kind of background among the modern Russian top-tier elite, and another 13-15% can relate to it with a significant degree of probability. It is noticeable that the proportion we found approved regardless of the approach the list of elite personalities is based on.

The attitude of the Russian Diplomacy towards the Western countries' intervention in the Libyan civil confrontation in 2011

The article analyzes the position of Russian diplomacy in relation to the interventionist policy of Western countries in Libya during the deployment of the confrontation in this country in 2011. The object of the study is the policy of the Russian Federation in the Middle East during the active phase of the «Arab Spring» (2011). The subject of the study is the evolution of the Kremlin's position regarding the intervention of Western countries in the internal affairs of the Middle East (on Libya's example). The main purpose of the work is to study the interventionism of the collective West during the internal political crisis in Libya in 2011 as the main factor that influenced the change in the nature of Moscow's Middle East policy as a whole. The presented research is carried out using general scientific methods of analysis and synthesis, and is also based on the principles of historicism and scientific objectivity. In the course of the study, the author attempts to reflect the objective reasons for the refusal of the Russian Federation from formally following the general policy of Western countries in relation to the «Arab Spring» and the transition to an independent political course in the Middle East, based primarily on the national interests of the Russian state. Special attention is paid to the comparative analysis of the positions of representatives of the Russian political elite in relation to the operation «Unified Protector» conducted in Libya.

The Concept of Pax Russica, Russian Strategic Narratives and their Possible Impact on Populist Movements and the Russophone Community in Estonia

In recent years, the Russian Federation has increased its aggressive rhetoric and information campaigns against the Baltic states as they identify these countries among the most vulnerable part of the West, which may be potentially handled by the Kremlin as a potential target audience for information and influence operations in their status conflict with the West. Moreover, the tools of information and influence operations of Russian Federation include all kinds of intimidation and manipulation techniques from cyber-attacks to political extortion among others. The research focuses on studying political influence Russia expectedly pursues through strategic narratives that find their way to reaching target audience. The research is primarily based on media analysis of Estonian media outlets in Estonian and Russian language and on structured interviews with various political figures and experts, opinion leaders, and representatives of Russophone community in Estonia.Probably the most fundamental idea of the modern state philosophy of the Russian Federation is the concept of the ‘Pax Russica’ (Russian World), which has been intensively developed during the last decade, promoted by abundant PR companies and information campaigns for the Russian-speaking internal and external audiences in mass media, social media, but also in popular and scientific literature. The concept of ‘Pax Russica’ has been used by Russian political elites as an ideological tool to unite all Russian-speaking people worldwide and to create a global Russian-speaking cultural, ideological, historical, social, political, economic and informational space as a powerful alternative to the Soviet Union or the Russian Empire. The concept of ‘Pax Russica’ is closely related to the compatriots policy of the Russian Federation, in which Russia has declared that its duty is protect Russian-speaking people not only in Russia, but also abroad.Russian-speaking population makes up 26-27% of the Estonian 1,300,000 population, and approximately 80% of them live in two counties: Harjumaa (including capital Tallinn) and Ida-Virumaa (northeast of Estonia) and it has been a valuable target for information and influence operations coming from Russia. The Russophone audience in Estonia constantly receives messages and narratives from Russia’s media channels, many of them promote negative perceptions against the West (e.g., about the "immorality" of the West, about "misdeeds" and "aggression" of NATO), stoking up the fear of migrants and refugees and other harmful narratives that break down positive images related to European identity, values and security architecture. What is characteristic to the Russian strategic narratives, these tend to be rather destructive, with the aim to destroy their potential adversary than to promote positive images on Russia. Besides the Russian-speaking community, Russia often targets various populist movements in Europe (also in Estonia) from left to right, etc. Russia pretends to protect, and promote worship against liberalism.

Public politicians electoral potential in social media

The object of the study are representatives of Russian political elite and their electorate in social networks. The aim of the study is to assess the impact on the electoral potential of politicians of their online communications with their audiences. The main quantitative indicators of the presence and activity of the Russian public politicians on Facebook, Instagram and Youtube, successful interaction forms between government representatives and the society, indexes of popularity, activity, audience loyalty, as well as visual features of the accounts’ content were analysed. Feedback in the accounts of current politicians was assessed, including containing critical discourse. According to the results of the study, the author concluded that the creation of a full-fledged feedback channel with a potential electorate positively affects the image of a public politician, allows reducing the feedback amount with negative comments, is a successful interaction form between a politician and the electorate and increases his electoral potential. However, the Russian politicians are not sufficiently prepared to establish communication with the potential electorate via social media.

Elite Struggle and Journalism in Russia in the Period of Nation Building

In the article the author presents the main stages and certain episodes of the struggle inside the ruling elite in the Russian Empire starting with 1820-ies and up to 1880-ies. The author studies the activity of the two main directions (groups) in Russian political elite, – nationally oriented and cosmopolitan ones, - who struggled for control over periodical press and public opinion. Ht pays special attention to the participation in this struggle of the III Section of His Majesty Imperial Chancellery, of S.S. Uvarov and other directors of the Ministry of National Education, of the Minister of Internal Affairs L.P. Perovsky and the Minister of State Property P.D. Kiselev. The author also examines the role in this struggle of certain official and private editions, their editors and publicists.

Russia’s Eurasian union dream: A way forward towards multipolar world order

Since the disintegration of USSR Eurasia has gained a new geopolitical and strategic significance. Fifteen countries emerged as result of disintegration, among which only Russian Federation was the successor state. The post-soviet era, especially the era of 1990s, was a political and economic trauma for the Russian Federation and the post-soviet space. But Eurasianists were well aware of American unilateralism and the American “Grand Chessboard strategy” that was solely aimed at encircling Russian geography. With these concerns, the Eurasianists advised the Russian political and military elites to initiate the Eurasian Union Project. This paper briefly sketches Russian historical Eurasian dream, which is deeply rooted in Russian imperial history, and discusses the importance of Eurasian philosophy for the political and economic stability of Russia-Eurasia. The paper also illustrates the challenges and opportunities for the Eurasian integration and for the establishment of a multipolar world order. The paper also briefly outlines the geopolitical rationale behind the Eurasian project as a key objective of the contemporary Russian foreign policy and geopolitics.

К ВОПРОСУ ОБ ОТСУТСТВИИ В РОССИИ ГОСУДАРСТВЕННОЙ ИДЕОЛОГИИ

Introduction: the article deals with the constitutional formula officially denying the presence of state ideology in Russia. Purpose: to investigate the issue of the absence of state ideology in Russia de jure and de facto; to identify the typology of modern Russian society, state, and law, the reasons for the absence of their essential characteristics in the Constitution of the Russian Federation. Methodology: the research is based on the fundamental principles of scientific philosophy – the principle of objectivity, the principle of development (historicism), the principle of universal interconnection, the principle of determinism, the principle of inconsistency, as well as general scientific methods of analysis and synthesis, induction and deduction. Results: the Constitution of the Russian Federation was adopted in the context of a deep socio-economic and political crisis and a split of the Russian political elite into irreconcilable groups that offered different ways of getting the country out of the crisis and different historical prospects for Russia. The new liberal elite, having defeated its political opponents in political and armed conflict, organized drafting and adoption of the Constitution of the Russian Federation in a short time in order to give legitimacy to the reforms planned. The liberal elite avoided ideologically and politically loaded vocabulary in their public speeches not to scare off the population when adopting the Constitution and carrying out reforms which were to result in the radical change of the type of society, state, and law. The same approach was used when developing the Constitution. The basic law of the country was created and adopted after the Cold War, when Russia found itself on the periphery of the world history and turned into an object of global neoliberal capital policy. The above factors determined the character, the design, and the contents of the Constitution of the Russian Federation. Conclusions: the Constitution was adopted in specific socio-economic and political conditions. It helped to avoid a disastrous civil war and to carry out economic and social reforms corresponding to the interests of the new elite of Russia and their western curators. As a result of the reforms, Russia was introduced into the economic, political, and cultural space of the global neoliberal capitalism managed from Washington. The country has actually lost its sovereignty and subjectivity. Modern Russia, unlike the Russia of the 90s, has ceased to be exclusively an object of global neoliberal capital. As a great power, Russia is bound to have its own state ideology that would express its national interests, fundamental needs, meaningful values, and a geopolitical strategy that would determine its historical prospects.

ОБРАЗ УКРАИНЫ КАК ВРАГА РОССИИ В СОЗНАНИИ РОССИЙСКИХ ГРАЖДАН

Aim . To reveal the elements of the image of the enemy in the image of Ukraine as it exists in the minds of the citizens of the Russian Federation. Methodology . The article is based on the results of sociological studies of the image of foreign countries in the consciousness of Russian citizens. The data were obtained during the empirical research conducted in 2018–2019 by the Department of Sociology and Psychology of Politics, Faculty of Political Science, Moscow State University. To interpret the obtained data obtained, qualitative and quantitative research methods were used (focused semi-standardized interviews and coding of the data obtained). Results . The study has shown that the image of Ukraine in the minds of the Russians indeed contains components of the image of the enemy to a large degree. At the same time, the Russians predominantly see the ruling elites and state structures of Ukraine as the enemy rather than the people of Ukraine. There is a heightened sense of danger from Ukraine, of geopolitical nature as well as a threat to Russian national identity. At the same time, the geopolitical threat in minds of the Russians is indirect rather than direct, and comes not so much from Ukraine itself, but from its status as a kind of “conductor” and catalyst of the threat from larger Western players. The threat to national identity is rooted in a sense of cultural and historical closeness to the people of Ukraine and the tendency of Russian citizens to equate the peoples of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. Due to these factors, Ukraine’s turn towards an anti-Russian vector and the anti-Russian political discourse that has grown out of it are perceived rather negatively by the Russians. Research implications . The results of this research are of practical importance, since they contribute to the academic understanding of the image of the “evil other” that exists in the consciousness of the Russians, the importance of which for the national identity of Russian citizens has greatly increased in the recent years. This article supplies the academic understanding of the processes of the formation and transformation of the Russian national identity, which is currently unfolding. The questions related to strengthening its foundations are now of particular importance at the level of discourse of Russian political elites.

Role of Institutional Environment in Shaping Political Careers of Young Political Leaders in the Regions of South-West Siberia

Evaluating prospects of bringing youth into Russian political elites has both an acuteness of a scientific challenge and practical relevance in the light of upcoming federal and regional elections of 2021. Based on the surveys of mass political consciousness of the youth and expert polls held in 2018-2020 in Altai Krai and Novosibirsk Oblast, the article has analyzed the visions of young people and their leaders on the effectiveness of career development through participation in youth political organizations, political parties and running for posts in election campaigns. Having measured these visions against the proportion of young people in the elite of the regional offices of political parties and in the lists of candidates running in regional elections, the authors have come to the conclusion about the low acceptance rate of career lift in regional political process. The object of the research comprises regions with different level of social and economic development, which has proved that lack of resource hinders realization of young leaders potential primarily in the regions with high concentration of economic capital and strong political competition.

Russia and Japan in 2012–2020: The Deadlock of Collective Identities

Territorial disputes are complicated by the long-term vicious cycle of “rival” identities constructed by continuous interactions. The purpose of this study is to analyze how Japan’s commitments to certain types of collective identities affect bilateral relations with Russia, using two case studies that analyze how Russian political elites perceive Japan’s position on sensitive issues of international politics. By doing so, the study argues that Japan’s commitments to “Western” collective discourses in the international arena over the past decade have largely undermined relations with Russia, reducing the likelihood of significant progress on critical issues.

The The Personality and Political Activity of Otto-von-Bismarck in the Russian Conservative, Liberal and Democratic Press in the second half of the 19-th - the beginning of the 20th century

The article is devoted to the personality and the political activity of one of the leading European diplomats of the 19th century, German Chancellor Otto-von-Bismarck reflected in the Russian press of the different political directions, and how these opinions influenced the decision-making in foreign policy by the Russian political elite.

Dyplomacja publiczna w wybranych dokumentach koncepcyjnych Federacji Rosyjskiej w latach 1991-2016

2020 is the year of publication of a new military doctrine of the Russian Federation. The document will, undoubtedly, be received as an interesting object of analysis, expected to show not only direct intentions, but also the hinking patterns representative for the Russian political elites. It is, therefore, advisable to process the history of public diplomacy – the leading tool of building soft power – a long-standing component of Russian Federation’s capability, which due to the composition of determinants typical for the late-Westphalian international order gained an unprecedented level of meaning (or even can be seen as a leading factor). For these reasons, the author – after adopting a working definition – attempts to retrace the direct and indirect (implied) instances of including public diplomacy into the most important strategic documents and legal acts, issued by Russia in the years 1991-2016. The analysis shows the evolution of Russia’s political elites’ approach to all of the dimensions of public diplomacy (shift from superficial westernisation and a liberal discourse on the international order, through demonstrations of assertiveness, to a narrative adopotion of the role of one of the poles of the new international order), and provides insight into the composition of the political, social end economic determinants behind the transition. Also discussed are the shifts within the specifics of the methods of public diplomacy – such as the perception of the role of diaspora, or the link between image, economic diplomacy and economic development. These changes are presented on the background of the state of the international system, and the analysis is an addition to the extensive literature on the Russian Federation’s informational influence.

Современная российская политическая элита: статусно-ролевой анализ поколений

The relevance of modern Russian political elite generations study is due to the rapid changes of the events, new forms of communication and the need to adjust the recruitment process, i.e. it is necessary to choose between the experience of the older generation and open-mindedness and ability to respond to the rapidly changing situation of the younger one. The paper contains the results of a study of key social and demographic characteristics of the older and younger generations of deputies and governors, i.e. their gender, age, place of socialization, education, etc. The authors contemplate types of career paths of young political leaders: professionals, party members, businessmen, officials, public figures, politicians, part-timers.
 The paper provides a general description of the young generation of political elite, describes its advantages and disadvantages in comparison with its older one, and highlights the main areas of need adjustments of the current system of recruiting young politicians. It includes the necessity to consider specific factors of political processes and activity based on roles when setting the selection criteria, to annually monitor the forms and levels of recruiting young leaders, to work with young politicians to broaden their experience, and to work with the system of national values and symbols, as well as the ideological foundation of young politicians.

Иеремия Бентам и Россия: историко-правовой очерк

The article provides the author’s analysis of the work of I. Bentham. The influence of his ideas on the implementation of reforms in Russia at the beginning of the 19th century, including the judicial reform of 1864, is shown. It is noted that from the ideological heritage of I. Bentham, such provisions as the independence of the judiciary, the need to codify the main branches of law, the priority of written law and the diminution of the role of legal custom, the equality of all before the law and the court regardless of class, the humanization of legal (primarily criminal) responsibility, the expansion of freedom of entrepreneurial activity in, etc. found a lively response in the Russian political elite and public consciousness.

“Representation of people” of the Russian Empire of the early XX century in memory and fate of members of the Duma

Russian history of the early XX century marks a landmark event – establishment of the State Duma, which was the “representation of people” in the government system of the Russian Empire and the emergence parliamentarism in Russia. The “memory studies” methodology elucidates the dramatic history of the State Duma by describing behavioral patterns of the deputies and motivation for their actions, as well as offers a new perspective on this institution of power as the image imprinted in memory of the deputies: diary notes during sessions of the Duma, and memoirs written abroad. The historians dealing with the “memory studies” genre bring the image of “era” to the forefront: historical events in the perception of their contemporaries, participants, witnesses, as well as individual experience, rational assessments, and emotional experiences captured in the diaries, correspondence, and memoirs, which are the sources for studying historical memory. These texts trace the dependence of life path of the deputies, representatives of the Russian political elite, and their personal stories on the fate of the Russian Empire. Such “dependence” is manifested in the chain “memory-identity-trauma”, which is the focus of attention in “memory studies”.

Professional elevators to the Russian political elite

The article identifies and analyses the main professions-suppliers of personnel to the authorities, reveals their role in the formation of the Russian managerial political elite, and also considers professional spheres and social groups from which incorporation into the political class occurs. The paper takes as a basis the biographies of 800 representatives of all levels of executive and legislative power holding senior positions. According to the results the author creates a rating of professions that cater to the power system, determines the professional lifts and levels at which they are able to lead as well as dedicates and differentiates by the branches of the professional sphere – ramps leading to municipal, regional and Federal authorities. The study notes the special role of engineering-technical and economic professional blocks in the ability to enter the authorities. And also the article identifies and defines a significant group in terms of number with high passability at all levels of government and an instant career type that leads to power immediately after receiving higher education. The paper considers social and educational features of this group, reveals universities-suppliers, tendencies of recruitment of this category in the system of power. The author notes the role of the digital sphere in the formation of the political elite.

ОБРАЗЫ МИРОВЫХ ПОЛИТИЧЕСКИХ ЭЛИТ В СОВРЕМЕННОЙ ПОЛИТИЧЕСКОЙ КАРИКАТУРЕ

This article examines the definition of political caricature in modern realities, notes its characteristic features, functions and scope of functioning. In addition, the author analyzes the importance of political caricature as a means of communication between the government and society. The article reveals the images of Russian and American political elites in the field of view of the authors of cartoons, their features and influence on the image of the state. In the framework of the study of Russian political elites, special attention is paid to the image of V. Putin and D. Medvedev, their relationship and the influence of the USSR on the modern interpretation of the political reality of Russia in foreign cartoons. The study of the image of D. Trump is based on the evolutionary features of his policy. The main significant events that influenced the image of the political leader and their reflection in the political caricature of the state are considered. In addition, a special interest in the study of the image of D. Trump in modern political cartoons is based on the fact that the political elite was directly connected with the Capitoline riot in early 2021. In this regard, this paper also analyzes the impact of this event on the modern political caricature.

Политические процессы на постсоветском пространстве (по страницам монографии ИМЭМО РАН)

The reader is invited to the review of the IMEMO RAS collective monograph «Political processes in the post-Soviet space: new trends and old problems» (ed. by E.G. Solovyev and G.I. Chufrin. Moscow, 2020). The review notes the scientific relevance and practical significance of the monograph for modern science and foreign policy activities of modern Russia, as well as identifies most acute problems of new sovereign countries’ functioning after the collapse of the USSR. As a result, it is concluded that dynamics of the ongoing political and economic processes in the post-Soviet space, destabilization of the situation along the perimeter of Russia’s borders requires increased attention of the Russian political, economic, scientific, and cultural elites to the situation in the neighboring countries.

On the question of the research methodology of the Russian political elite (on the example of the Republic of Tuva)

The article is devoted to the analysis of the transparency of concepts known in modern political science to the study of Russian regional political elites, using the example of the Republic of Tuva. In the process of work, the authors used qualitative methods: in-depth interviews, expert survey, focus groups; quantitative methods: sampling method, questionnaire survey, event analysis, content analysis. The authors focused their attention on such characteristics of the regional political elite as: clientelism, closeness, corporate, particular orientation.The authors come to the conclusion that an increase in the degree of efficiency of the regional elite can be achieved subject to the modernization of personnel policy, the transition from a clan-related system of relations to the implementation of effective management based on an entrepreneurial system.

German Question Through Eyes of Russian Political Elite at Turn of XIX and XX Centuries

German Question Through Eyes of Russian Political Elite at Turn of XIX and XX Centuries