Decrepit elite of old Russia

The age of Putin’s associates affect their mindset. This is important, but experts believe that the main problem of tenure.

Those who today run the country, most have long since crossed the 60-year age mark. They do not understand, and do not consider it necessary to delve into. How all this affects on politics, on our future?

Marina Litvinovich, political scientist, human rights activist:

“If you look at the average age of the management of the political and economic elite in the country — we see that this generation of the 1950s and 1960s years of birth. About the Putin generation and “plus-minus” from him. While we have no mechanisms for the rotation of elites and not running the elections.

Due to the fact that there was a system when it is customary to appoint to managerial positions of any relatives and acquaintances, — does not upgrade elites.

At the same time not working social lifts, which would allow people of younger age to achieve some managerial heights. Here, indeed, I would agree with the assessment that is ruled by a gerontocracy.

But still now there are young people, but how they think differently, hard to say. While the fact that they follow the rules of the game established by gerontocrats, and because they are like gerontocrats.

Rotation happens, and even goes to the ridiculous. This was clearly noticeable during the broadcast of the meeting of the Commission of the Federation Council, which addressed the issue of foreign interference in Russian elections. It is significant that all the arguments of people and their ideas about scientific and technological progress and modern means of communication are deeply unfashionable. That is, people still do not understand very well how the Internet works, not really aware of how social networks work, and do not really understand how the modern world. Therefore, their estimates are often deprived of common sense, and no wonder the young people just laugh at statements coming from the Federation Council and the state Duma”.

Gregory Yudin, a sociologist, candidate of philosophical Sciences:

“There are two influencing factors. One linked to the objective biological age themselves elites. It is easy to notice that the average age of these people usually — well over 70 years. But this is not a problem, because people, regardless of age, behave differently. The fact is that with them the whole policy tacosteve in the style that was installed somewhere in the early 2000-ies. And this greatly hinders any political activity in Russia because a great number of people do not want to have anything to do with politics, built by some dinosaurs.

This was evident many times, but, for example, we could observe such a situation clearly during the recent elections in Moscow and St. Petersburg. It is seen that when the opportunity arises some normal horizontal policies — policy-participation and involvement — a large number of young people ready to participate in it.

The problem with elites is that they have this policy don’t feel do not know, do not understand. And they are, in General, rely on about the same group of their peers, which, of course, are the same citizens of Russia, but in the political space excessively overrepresented.

As a result, we have a situation where there is a “nuclear electorate”, which can be mobilize to the polls and who actually fills the entire Russian political field, while all others are forced to sit on the sidelines, to put it mildly, abreva from what they see — it does not correspond to any political style that exists today in countries where people go and see.

It is obvious that there is a split in the electorate between those who consume information only from TV — that is, monochannel consumption, and those who have a lot of channels of consumption. And this correlates with the division by age. People in older age are passionate about TV. They are accustomed to the appropriate political style. And the problem is that all of today’s social policy — with its party leaders, with leaders of parliamentary parties who are in deep retirement age is the style of officialdom and the administration focused on this very large group.

The elite and their “nuclear electorate” communicate with those who they are more comfortable. Standard political campaign in any election is the campaign, which is aimed at people of retirement and pre-retirement age. Even in conversation, as a rule, people shows that close to the boss, says in any official format, wearing a suit and tie. This image is close to one, very specific categories of the population, though for the rest it looks extremely unclear. Because of this we have such uniformity in the current situation.”

Dmitry Gudkov, the politician:

“When nothing changes, when there is no competition — that is actually a dictatorship. And no matter who is there at what age. Trump even older than Putin. It’s not their age, and that the power does not change.

This means that all decisions are made by one person or some kind of “team of friends”, which in the absence of competition stopped to think progressive and the old methods. She’s not changing because she doesn’t need to change — and so it is with power. She doesn’t need to win the election, she doesn’t need to come up with some modern management techniques. So they rule in the twenty-first century methods of the XX-th.

The main problem of the dictatorship — there is no way to change the government, lack of competition, not the age of the elites.

Appeared as “young technocrats” — are just opportunists. They adapt to the conditions that they created. This does not mean that when the situation changes they will be able to manage something. May be able. Just the rules of the game formed the elite, who are stuck somewhere in the 90-ies”.

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