Informal networks of regional elites in Russia: a cross-temporal perspective
Melnikov K.V. Informal networks of regional elites in Russia: a cross-temporal perspective // Demokratizatsiya: The Journal of Post-Soviet Democratization.– 2023.– Vol. 31. No. 1.– P. 29-56.
How do “variags,” or governors with no roots in the region, build their power networks? How do such networks differ from those of locally embedded leaders? This article examines the issue through the case of Russia’s Sverdlovsk Oblast, comparing the administrations of its first and current governors: Eduard Rossel’ and Evgeny Kuivashev. Based on biographical analysis supplemented by expert surveys, the author models the informal networks of both governors. With the help of Social Network Analysis, the paper reveals two different network strategies. These strategies ideally suited the political and institutional contexts at the time and played a key role in the relative political success of both governors.
