№ 5 - 2009
Rivera Sh.W., Rivera D.W.
Toward an Accurate Assessment of Russian Elite Transformation

Since Vladimir Putin took over the presidency, analysts have highlighted the large numbers of siloviki that have been recruited into government service. This article investigates this trend on the basis of both a reexamination of findings previously published by Ol’ga Kryshtanovskaya and Stephen White and an original data set compiled by the authors. It finds that both sets of data indicate that the proportion of siloviki in the elite rose during Putin’s first term in office but was far lower than has been widely reported. In short, claims of the “FSB-ization of power” under Putin are valid but significantly overstated.