The investigative outlet Proekt released a blockbuster report into Russia’s elite, which found that 76% of 1,329 senior officials had “relatives who also work in government administration, in businesses tied to state contracts … as well as other signs of potential conflicts of interest.” The journalists went a step further by claiming that nepotism has reached record levels since the Romanov era, with President Vladimir Putin having elevated “at least 26 relatives and in-laws” into office or the helm of lucrative state companies. They also characterized Russia’s ruling class as a self-replicating “hereditary aristocracy” with roots that stretch back into Soviet officialdom. While mapping the networks of Russia’s elite is worthwhile, neither of these conditions is informative about what actually shapes the country’s ruling class. Nor is it new.
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