THE MILITARISATION OF THE POLITICAL ELITE IN RUSSIA DURING THE PUTIN PRESIDENCY; AN ALTERNATIVE INTERPRETATION (Militaryzacja elity wladzy centralnej podczas prezydentury Wladimira Putina - interpretacja alternatywna)

• Authors: Cwiek-Karpowicz Jaroslaw
• Languages of publication: PL

Abstracts

EN

When Vladimir Putin handed over presidential authority in the spring of 2008, then, for the first time since the era of 'perestroika', there was no manifestation of a battle for power among Russia's elite. Numerous scholars, such as Olga Kryshtanovskaya and Stephen White, explain this particular process as the militarisation of the elite, which occurred hand in hand with Vladimir Putin's presidency. The article aims at the partial denying of that thesis and at suggesting an alternative interpretation of the processes occurring at the top of Russian power structure. The author demonstrates that the dominance of people with a background in the security services of the elite central authorities, the most important circle of the elite, had already occurred during Boris Yeltsin's presidency, while the casting of the most critical positions under Putin's presidency was primarily decided by factors of loyalty on the part of the elite toward their head of state, rather than their powerful support mechanisms within the structures of the security services. By the same token, at the start of 2008, it was not in the least the 'force structures' which played this crucial role, but the ministers and the higher echelons of public administration.

Keywords

EN

POLITICAL ELITE; POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS; PUTIN VLADIMIR; RUSSIA

Discipline

• POLITICAL_SCIENCES: POLITICAL SCIENCES

• Publisher: Institute of Political Studies, Polish Academy of Sciences and Collegium Civitas
• Journal: Studia Polityczne (Political Studies)
• Year: 2009
• Issue: 23
• Pages: 151-172
• Document type: ARTICLE

Contributors

author

Cwiek-Karpowicz Jaroslaw

• Jaroslaw Cwiek-Karpowicz, c/o Uniwersytet Warszawski, Instytut Nauk Politycznych, ul. Krakowskie Przedmiescie 3, 00-047 Warszawa, Poland

Identifiers

CEJSH db identifier

10PLAAAA078313