Book chapter
Элиты в поисках утраченных смыслов
-------------------------------------------
In book
------------------------------------------------
The article concerns cultural and historical processes in the "barbarian" world of the Crimea studied on the material of burial assemblages of elites.
The analytical report “Russian elite-2020” is the first in a series of papers, prepared under the auspices of the Research Grants Program of the Foundation for Development and Support of the Valdai Discussion Club. This research project analyzes the values, mindset and ideological orientation of post-Soviet elites, as well as the factors that influence their formation and evolution. Based on the results of the analysis, authors composed a portrait of a typical representative of the Russian elite in the 2020s, and forecasted how elite values and attitudes will continue to evolve and what effect they will have on the Russian domestic and foreign policy
On the basis of archaeological sources, it is expedient to study cultural transformations conditioned by events of a socio-political nature. Networking in the political sphere is closely connected with the exchange of symbols of power and status. In material culture, such symbols might be represented among the so-called ‘prestige objects’. Changes in the assortment of such items observed over a long time-span can help us visualize the development of domestic and external relationships among social elites. Proceeding from such preconditions, the present paper will look at funeral complexes of the Crimean ‘Barbarian’ elites located on the territory between Chersonesus Taurica and the Bosporan kingdom dating from the 3rd century BC to the 3rd century AD. In the late 4th century BC, a fortress of central importance was erected at Ak-Kaya. Here and in other strategical places, there are traces of fires and subsequent restoration or enhancements of the defensive systems dating to the 270s BC. Shortly afterwards, the burial complexes of the ‘Barbarian’ population display prestige La-Tène-style objects belonging to the military elite. These elites controlled probably the territory of the Crimean ‘Barbaricum’, as well as the steppes adjoining the Crimea from the north, including settlements from the nearby territory of Olbia. By the mid-2nd century BC, the consolidation and centralization of the elites seems to have taken place. The capital fortress was moved westwards (Neapolis Scythica) and developed into a capital of a state of early-Hellenistic appearance. The process of consolidation was interrupted in the late 2nd century BC through the annexation of the Crimea by Mithradates VI Eupator. For a short time, the region got under his direct influence, which allowed for further elite contacts. Since their victory upon Mithradates, the Romans recognized the strategical importance of the region, not least during their conflicts with Parthia. The elite burials reflect interactions with new contact zones. On the one hand, they contain Roman bronze and silver tableware, and funeral wreaths – customary for Greco-Roman burial rites. On the other hand, there are Chinese Lacquer Boxes and the silk clothing. The subordination of the ‘Barbarian’ elites to the centers of the Greco-Roman civilization continued throughout the second and third centuries AD until the demise of Roman imperial policy in the region.
The deepening rift between the system's potential and the challenges of rapidly changing socio-economic conditions make the transformation of Russia's state apparatus a matter of the nearest future; while, barring a radical overhaul, its preservation until 2025 is virtually impossible. Two major trends and resulting changes in administrative organization will determine Russia's political development processes in the coming years: reformatting relations between the authorities and society and reconfiguring arrangements between the federal center and regions. The center-regions relations dynamics is analyzed in terms of long pendulum oscillations with pendulum moving now from the model of 'federation of corporations' to the model of 'federation of regions'.
The article presents an analysis of the studies of the elite phenomenon in contemporary foreign and domestic political science. The subject of investigation - the evolution steel elitological studies, its agenda, methodological approaches, thematic specialization. On the basis of an array of publications, the author concludes that elitology in the moment is one of the most advanced sub-disciplines of domestic political science. The most significant results were obtained in studies of the regional elite, top-level management of the bureaucracy, in the political-psychological study of power groups. Autor identifies the following areas: political-psychological, political, sociological, comparative, study of intra-relationships.
The analytical report “Russian elite-2020” is the first in a series of papers, prepared under the auspices of the Research Grants Program of the Foundation for Development and Support of the Valdai Discussion Club. This research project analyzes the values, mindset and ideological orientation of post-Soviet elites, as well as the factors that influence their formation and evolution. Based on the results of the analysis, authors composed a portrait of a typical representative of the Russian elite in the 2020s, and forecasted how elite values and attitudes will continue to evolve and what effect they will have on the Russian domestic and foreign policy