EN
It has passed over a quarter of a century from the collapse of the Soviet Union and the political systems of the new states that have emerged in 1991 demonstrate own features which can not be classified as a ‘third wave of democratization’. The paper discusses main features of the transformation of post-Soviet political systems and pays particular attention to the case of Belarus. The author argues that some problems in investigation of that matter can be overcome by a neopatrimonial paradigm. From such point of view, thus leading roles in the politic of Belarus play not oligarchy but state officials, it is classified as a bureaucratic regime.