The political elite as a metaphor of culture: reflections on contemporary Russia

Abstract

Introduction. The political elite of every country must be oriented toward the state and its fundamental values. Any state develops its sovereignty through a protracted struggle for the right to be itself, for the right to reflect its own history and culture. This is equally true of modern Russia. First and foremost, the state’s political elite must serve as a model for the alignment of state value orientations. The purpose of study is to assess the potential of the Russian political elite from the perspective of its cultural foundations and traditions. According to the author, these constitute its unique civilizational potential. The cultural background of the Russian political elite creates the conditions for confronting the current challenges facing Russia as a state-civilization. The methodological framework of the study is based on An institutional method, which demonstrates the political elite’s ability to act as an institution within the political system, and a neo-institutional method, which focuses on the formal and informal practices of elite construction and communication. A comparative historical approach allows us to study the continuity between subordination practices within Russia’s ruling class. Results. The study reveal a direct link between the political situation unfolding in Russia and the state of culture. According to the author, the political choices of representatives of the ruling class in modern Russia at all levels of politics are, in one way or another, conditioned by cultural capital and are associated with a certain cultural burden. Among these, the author identifies fear, bilingualism, time-consuming behavior, and a particular political style. Representatives of the political elite in contemporary Russia are shaped by these phenomena. Culture, acting as a unique form, is projected onto the elite’s political decision-making process. Culture defines political practices, serving as a unique framework that allows for the anticipation of future elite-building practices in contemporary Russia. Conclusions. Research suggests that Russia’s political elite develops within a specific cultural framework. Accumulated historical and cultural experience serves as a fundamental and rather rigid framework, predetermining the future trajectories of elite development. The elite’s civilizational conformity is generally ensured when a conservative scenario is chosen and attention is focused on the inversion potential of the political system. On the other hand, individual examples suggest that a global, transnational, or transborder option appears preferable for some representatives of the political class in contemporary Russia.