#9 - JRL 7285
Komsomolskaya Pravda
No. 144
August 2003
RUSSIAN ELITE UNDER YELTSIN AND PUTIN
By Larisa KAFTAN
Institute of Sociology under the RF Academy of Sciences
conducted research "Putin's elite in 2001-03." Researchers
looked into profiles of 3,500 high-ranking officials - from the
government and president's administration, deputies, senators,
oligarchs. They had private conversations with hundreds of
high-ranking bureaucrats and studied public opinion.
"What was the Kremlin's reaction to your study of Putin's
elite?"
Olga KRYSHTANOVSKAYA, head of a section on studies of the
elite in the Institute of Sociology, candidate of philosophy,
answers:
"The Kremlin officials had a rather guarded attitude
toward our study. The results of our work showed that on the
federal level big business gradually abandons direct
involvement in politics, preferring to put its representatives
in the seats of power. Among Russian high-ranking leadership,
16 percent are puppets of the big business, in the Federal
Assembly - 17 percent, and in the government - 5 percent.
However, regional legislative assemblies have as many as
70 percent of business-related members. Military officers
occupy 70 percent of seats in administrative structures of
federal districts and 35 percent of deputy minister positions.
There are especially many "military" deputies in such
ministries as the Ministry of Economic Development (Mr. Gref
has four high-ranking officers as his deputies), the Ministry
of Industry, Science and Technology, the Press Ministry, the
Communications Ministry and the Justice Ministry. The number of
military among governors has doubled. Under Vladimir Putin, the
elite acquired 22 percent of newcomers. 30 percent of today's
high-ranking bureaucrats occupied higher echelons of power all
the way back during Brezhnyev era.
There are twice as many president's townspeople at the
reigns of power under Putin as it used to be under Yeltsin. However, Sverdlovsk
region has never had as many intellectuals
as St. Petersburg, after all. Even if he wanted to, Mr. Yeltsin
would have never found enough people there to fill the elite
posts. Putin's elite has twice as few people with academic
status, though. But don't forget that Mr. Yeltsin came to power
on a democratic wave, driven by intelligentsia, especially from
scientific circles. Today, the democratic winds have subsided
and fewer representatives of democratic circles are catapulted
to the heights of power. The increase of the number of military
officers is understandable, as well: the army is being reduced,
and tens of thousands of military officers become available.
Obviously, the state has certain obligations before them."
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