Political elite of Chelyabinsk region in 1990-2000s: peculiarities of formation and development dynamics

The article analyzes the process of forming the political elite of the Chelyabinsk region in the 1990s on the basis of archival materials, publications of historical and sociological studies of the journal “Actors” (Chelyabinsk), and the dynamics of its development during the period under study. The political development of the region, the situation of “dual power”, the exclusive role of entrepreneurs and businessmen, a strong governor are those factors that directly influenced the formation of a new regional elite. The dynamics of the development of the elite was revealed through the study of its socio-demographic characteristics. The authors came to the conclusion that the political elite of the Chelyabinsk region was multinational, with the obvious dominance of Russians among other nationalities. In gender terms - a man with a high level of education. As a part of the regional political elite, there were mostly natives from the Chelyabinsk region, born mainly in the cities. The scientific problem considered in the article is not only poorly studied, but also one of the topical issues of national history.