Elite networks and worldviews during the Yel'tsin years

Abstract

Conflict characterised Russian elite politics during the Yel'tsin years. This article adopts a network approach to understand the sources of elite contention in one Russian locality between 1994 and 2000. The findings suggest that elite conflict during the Yel'tsin years had its roots in structural and cultural forces deeper than control over official positions and differences in socio-demographic characteristics. The article reveals that elites fragmented over time into factions. Rather than having a unifying culture, elites from different factions held distinct worldviews that were patterned by their networks. The characteristics of their worldviews matched the structural properties of elite factions and reinforced differences between them.