Page 291 - DPOL202_COMPARATIVE_POLITICS_AND_GOVERNMENT_ENGLISH

Comparative Politics and Government

Notes 1990s there was a great surge of popular participation. It took multiple forms, including mass protest
actions such as strikes and demonstrations, as well as the creation of tens of thousands of new informal
organizations. But following the end of the Soviet regime, this wave subsided. The disengagement
and skepticism reflected in public opinion today certainly reflects disillusionment with how conditions
have turned out.
Elite Recruitment

Elite recruitment refers to the set of institutional mechanisms in a society by which people gain access
to positions of influence and responsibility. It is closely tied to the forms of political participation in
a society, because it is through participation in community activity that people take on leadership
roles, learn civic skills such as organization and persuasion, develop networks of friends and
supporters, and become interested in pursuing political careers. In the Soviet regime, the link between
participation and elite recruitment was highly formalized as the communist party took pains to recruit
the population into a variety of officially-sponsored organizations, such as the communist party,
youth leagues, trade unions, and women’s associations. Through such organizations, the regime
identified potential leaders and gave them experience in organizing group activity.
And those individuals who were approved for the positions on nomenklatura lists were informally
called “the nomenklatura.” Many citizens regarded them as the ruling class in Soviet society.

The party reserved the right to approve appointments to any position which carried
high administrative responsibility or which was likely to affect the formation of
public attitudes. The system for recruiting, training and appointing individuals for
positions of leadership and responsibility in the regime was called the nomenklatura
system.
The democratizing reforms of the late 1980s and early 1990s made two important changes in the
process of elite recruitment. First, the old nomenklatura system crumbled along with other Communist
Party controls over society. Second, although most members of the old ruling elites adapted themselves
to the new circumstances and stayed on in various official capacities, the wave of new informal
organizations and popular elections brought about an infusion of new people into elite positions.
Thus the contemporary Russian political elite consists of some people who were recruited under the
old nomenklatura system together with a smaller share of individuals who have entered politics through
new democratic channels. The political elite has not simply reproduced itself from the old regime to
the new but neither has it been completely replaced. Rather, it has been expanded to accommodate
the influx of new, often younger, politicians who have come in to fill positions in representative and
executive branches. Many members of the old guard have successfully adapted themselves to the
new conditions, and, drawing upon their experience and contacts, have found high-status jobs for
themselves in business and government. At the same time, many young politicians have entered
political life through the electoral process.
But there are two major differences between elite recruitment in the old system and the present. The
nomenklatura system of the Soviet regime ensured that in every walk of life, those who held positions
of power and responsibility were approved by the party. They thus formed different sections of a
single political elite and owed their positions to their political loyalty and usefulness. Today, however,
there are multiple elites (political, business, scientific, cultural, etc.), with no one overarching
mechanism for grooming and selecting their members. Second, there are multiple channels for
recruitment to today’s political elite. Some of its members are old-guard party and state officials who
have found niches for themselves in state administration in the present regime. But others are new-
wave politicians who have climbed the ladder of success in elections or entered the political elite after
careers in business or science. Therefore, depending on which elite group we examine, we see a
mixture of old and new channels of recruitment.

286 LOVELY PROFESSIONAL UNIVERSITY