When considering regional elite it should be noted that the last usually is understood as set of professionally prepared leader groups independent from each other focused in departure of the power on interests of concrete regions and using in them a certain prestige, to the corresponding volume of institutional influence and level of active participation in all significant processes of society.
As a rule, the political reality appears in two differing states: first, it exists as interaction, functioning of the states (for example, the CIS), the parties, institutes invested by the power of their plenipotentiary heads, secondly, it is a difficult chain of actions, contacts of people and their communities with the specific motives, the bases and results. As reflection of this situation existence in political science of two aspects serves: the institutional, focusing attention on the analysis of the organizational, structural party political relations, and behavioural which sense consists in representation of policy as systems of actions of people and their consequences.
As formation of political system in Russia is noted in researches of many domestic political scientists, both on federal, and at the regional level is connected with gradual acquisition by the political relations of a number of essential signs. Among which are allocated: first, steady interdependence of various elements of political life; secondly, orderliness of the political relations, existence of an optimum combination of their stability and development; thirdly, hierarchy of values, set of political symbols, the belief accepted by members of a political community; fourthly, joint response of all elements of system to external influence.
In the Russian reality the formation of structure of political system which dropped out for post-socialist social transformation in many respects had spontaneous character.
Function of the bearing design was assumed by regional elite for a long time to fix the situation received by means of “parade of sovereignties” in the aspirations not to allow new redistribution of resources.
As if further there was no political destiny of regional elite, this unique education quite long period will define nature of social and economic and political transformations in the country.
Studying of elitism in our country rather young direction in science. The need for it is revealed to life by the changed paradigm of functioning of political knowledge in Russia. The specified ideas of officially ruling elite, not only have universal demand, but also are used as for comprehension, and creative modeling of reality. In the scientific plan the comparative analysis of regional elite is quite independent direction of new branch of political science – a political regionalistic. There is nothing surprising therefore that to the comparative political sociology which is successfully developing in the country, comparative political science also such interdisciplinary education as a comparative political regionologiya makes the way. It is the most perspective component of a political regionalistika.
The comparative political regionologiya at the present stage represents set of the interdisciplinary political researches, mainly empirical character only declaring the future subdistsiplinarnost through specifics of a method and knowledge of regional policy within a federal state. Its conductor is the increased interest in regional political processes in general, and the term “regional elite” in relation to them is strategic.
Regional elite acts as the guarantor of search of the tolerant hostel now. Also give the chance of consideration of institutional arrangement of regional elite and their behavior as the defining indicator of the happening political processes.
According to Institute of sociology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, more than 75,0 % of modern political and 61,0 % of business elite – natives of ranks of the Soviet nomenclature. These results predicted last decade the XX centuries allow to characterize a modern political regime as certain nomenclature democracy. Such situation is perceived differently, but nevertheless it isn’t necessary to simplify a problem. As if that wasn’t, evolution of the Russian elite considerably resounds with democratic prospects of social development, not to mention realities. One of the most important reasons of it that the question of genesis of the Russian elite at all the comprehensive study, isn’t solved.
Today the main result of evolution of regional elite is universal recognition of their crucial role in a new paradigm of the Russian policy. The vector of their further transformation is enough, but at any scenarios a way of transformation of regional groups to more significant community of regional elite, the separate control functions having along with the federal center necessary for stability of system, will lie through achievement of compromises on the main divergences in interaction of elite of different level.
It should be noted what exactly development of system of the relations of federal and regional elite groups is defining at the characteristic of the present stage of transformation of ruling class. Thus key tendencies are: restoration of hardware domination, integration of political and economic groups, the proceeding processes of regionalization of elite. Consolidation of new ruling class is carried out first of all at the regional level, the called tendencies exactly here are most brightly shown. Regional elite acts in system of relationship with the Center as the posreduyushchy subject, for control over which there is a serious fight of parties and politicians in the center.
The special role of economic contradictions in system of the relations of federal and regional ruling groups is connected with that through the central governmental bodies and system of personal interrelations at the level of federal ruling elite some transregional economic subjects have opportunity to carry out the political influence in the region. Besides, in the conditions of increase of political independence of regions the central authorities were even more often very limited in the influence on local authorities, and regional political process was completely monopolized by local ruling elite recently. The economic pressure channel on administration of the region became defining. Political penetration of the central authorities into the region perhaps today, first of all, thanks to control over economic and financial resources and decisions. The alliance between the enterprises, branches, other economic subjects and the central political elite is the most effective way of realization of such strategy.
More and more obvious is that fact that installation of regional ruling elite on political independence from the Center which or is already generally reached, or just and was found in the course and after present elections, replaced by emphasis on achievement of economic independence now. However the last is understood not as formation of the closed and self-sufficient market, but as mastering control over economic resources and economic decisions more often.
Achievement of the similar purpose can lead to two consequences. First, integration of political and economic elite groups will be carried out first of all and generally at the regional level. Secondly, process of consolidation of new ruling class won’t be able to be provided in scales of all country. Key feature of new Russian elite is that it represents a conglomerate closed and in many respects self-sufficient regional structures. Thus the federal ruling elite not only isn’t consolidated, but isn’t the uniting structure of ruling class in scales of all country. In these conditions the destructive potential of processes of disintegration and is compensated today almost only not by interest of economic elite in destruction of economic infrastructure and its regionalization.
The characteristic of the present stage of regional development as the system of the relations based on politicization by regions of own economic requirements, nevertheless, is insufficient. The aspiration of regional elite to gain political and economic independence faces the fact of the increasing multiplication and differentiation of both the federal, and regional elite groups participating in definition of tendencies and nature of development of these or those territories.
Thus, if political and public structures also play a part in political life of the region, it is connected or with consideration of local political process in the context of the all-Russian policy, or with functioning of some party or public organization as political infrastructure of the party in power of regional level. The low political institutional capacity of parties and public associations at the regional level doesn’t allow leaders to build the relation with representatives of administrative elite on the principles of partnership.
Allocation of regions in which there was a consolidation of the party in power is possible, political process is completely controlled by local administration. The similar situation takes place in many regions of our country. The most striking examples of controlled political process in modern Russia are presence of the “etnokratiya” and “agrokratiya” elements. We will note as well that fact that these models are rather often combined and supplement each other.
Monopolization of regional political process by the party in power puts a political class, political parties in dual situation. On the one hand, the certain pre-election agreement with local government creating very favorable situation and considerably increasing chances on elections. On the other hand, possibilities of political parties in such regions sometimes become very limited as the need of the power for party support decreases.
Finding of legitimacy by the state institutes at the present stage doesn’t contact in the opinion of the Russian society activity of political parties. The main criteria of legitimacy are efficiency and professionalism. The ruling elite constantly emphasizes the unwillingness to participate in any political peripetias.
Important feature of regional elite is their quite rigid hierarchy, orientation on persons, whether it be the head of regional office of political structure or the man of weight in the leaders of area, edge, republic. They act more likely as echelons of support of one of the top officials of political establishment of the region. It predetermines clan nature of relationship, aspiration to stand apart, negative expectations from recruitment of new politicians who are considered, first of all, as competitors in fight for influence on the Center. More and more deep division of elite on ruling and political is a consequence of clan model of political behavior of regional elite. Thus, there is an influence on consolidation of ethnocultural marginal groups by means of lobbying of programs in the government of regions, and also by means of various cultural actions, days of national culture, promoting painless entry of ethnocultural outcasts into an inoetnichesky cultural field.