Political and Psychological Characteristics of Russian Governors in the Domestic Political Science: Review of Scientific Research

Cover Page

Cite item

Abstract

The article reviews the works of Russian researchers devoted to personal characteristics of Russian governors in terms of political and psychological approach. Drawing on the method of historical retrospection, the author distinguishes the transformation stages of the governorship institution since the 2000s, which required the revelation of different personal features in order for a governor to be successful. Theses transformation stages also led to changes in scientific approaches to the research of a governors’ psychological qualities. As a result, the author comes to the conclusion that current Russian political science fails to reflect the political and psychological portrait of modern Russian regional elite, including governors. The author notes that the personal characteristics of Russian governors are empirical indicators through which political scientists can evaluate the personality of a politician in the psychological sense, and, moreover, compare it with others, which proves the importance of this topic.

About the authors

Anastasia I. Matiusova

Lomonosov Moscow State University

Author for correspondence.
Email: nmatyusova@gmail.com
ORCID iD: 0000-0002-3618-3668

Postgraduate Student, Department of Political Sociology and Psychology, Faculty of Political Science

Moscow, Russian Federation

References

  1. Ashin, G.K. (2005). Elitology. Moscow: MGIMO-University. (In Russian).
  2. Baturin, Yu.M., Ilyin, A.L., Kadatsky, V.F., Kostikov, V.V., & Krasnov, M.A. (Eds.). (2001). The Yeltsin Era. Essays on political history. Moscow: VAGRIUS. (In Russian).
  3. Best, H., & Higley, J. (Eds.). (2018). The Palgrave handbook of political elites. London.
  4. Bude, H. (1985). Der Socialforscherals Narrationsanimateuer. KollnerZeitschrift fur Soziologie und Sozialpsychologie, 37(2). (In German).
  5. Bushueva, N.V. (2010). Political and psychological analysis of regional political leaders of Russia: Dis. ... cand. political sciences. Moscow: Moscow State University. 170 p. (In Russian).
  6. Bystrova, A.S. (2018). Resignations and elections 2018: renewal of the Governor’s corps, recruitment pool and career of new characters. Power and elites, 5, 331–359. (In Russian).
  7. Bystrova, A.S., Daugavet, A.B., Duka, A.V., Kolesnik, N.V., Nevsky, A.V., & Tev, D.B. (2019). Institutionalization of the political elite: sources of recruitment and career. Power and Elites, 6, 22–66. (In Russian).
  8. Chirikova, A.E. (2008). Vertical of power in the assessments of regional elites: dynamics of changes. Polis. Political studies, 6, 99–112. (In Russian).
  9. Davydov, S.V. (2016). Political and psychological profile of an opposition politician: theoretical and methodological aspects. Politics and society, 9(141), 1187–1193. (In Russian).
  10. Dobrynina, E.P. (2012). Political and psychological analysis of regional authorities: the personality and role of the governor: Dis. ... cand. political sciences. Moscow: Moscow State University. 276 p. (In Russian).
  11. Dyson, S., & Parent, M. (2018). The operational code approach to profiling political leaders: understanding Vladimir Putin. Intelligence and National Security, 33(1), 84–100.
  12. Egorova, E. (1999). President Bush. Psychological portrait. Psychology and psychoanalysis of power (Vol. 2, pp. 83–97). Textbook. Samara: Publishing house “Bahrah”. (In Russian).
  13. Erikson, E.H. (1963). Childhood and Society.
  14. Flyagin, A.M. (2020). How the portrait of the Russian governor has changed: an analysis of the biographies of the heads of regions 1991–2019. Perm University Herald. Series: Political Science, 1, 29–39. (In Russian).
  15. Gaman-Golutvina, O.V. (2016). Political elites as an object of research in domestic political science. Political Science, 2, 38–73. (In Russian).
  16. Gelman, V., Bri, M. et al. (Eds.). (2000). Russia of regions: transformation of political regimes. Moscow: Ves’ mir. (In Russian).
  17. Gizzatov, E.K. (2006). Operational coding – a method of distant assessment of the personality of a political leader. Bulletin of Moscow University. Series 12. Political Sciences, 2, 76–85. (In Russian).
  18. Goodwin, D.K. (2018). Leadership in turbulent times. NY: Simon & Schuster.
  19. Ignatenko, I.M. (2015). Modern stage of redistribution of powers between the Federal center and regions of Russia. Bulletin of the Volga region Institute of management, 3, 54–60. (In Russian).
  20. Kachanov, A.A. (2006). Biographical component of the political and psychological analysis of the governor’s corps in modern Russia: Dis. ... cand. political sciences. Moscow State University. (In Russian).
  21. Kiselev, I.Yu. (2000). Political establishment: psychological aspects of the practice of power. Moscow: IL RAS. (In Russian).
  22. Kynev, A.V. (2020). Governors in Russia: between elections and appointments Moscow: Liberal mission Foundation. (In Russian).
  23. Lavrov, I.A. (2019). Catalysts and inhibitors of a political career in Russia. GUU University Herald, 12, 193–199. (In Russian).
  24. Malinova, O.Yu. (2011). Political elites as “producers of meanings” of Russian politics: to the problem statement. In O.V. Gaman-Golutvina (Ed.), Elites and society in comparative measurement. Moscow: ROSSPEN (pp. 280–293). (In Russian).
  25. Mezhenina, O.V. (2016). Heads of Executive power in the subjects of the Russian Federation: socio-demographic analysis (1995). Proceedings of the Altai State University, 4, 105–109. (In Russian).
  26. Palitay, I.S. (2019). The young generation of politicians in modern Russia: a political-psychological approach to research. Moscow University Herald. Series 12. Political Sciences, 3, 7–22. (In Russian).
  27. Palitai, I.S., & Danilova, A.S. (2020). Regional leaders of the new generation: results of political and psychological analysis. Bulletin of Tomsk State University. Philosophy. Sociology. Political Science, 54, 252–262. (In Russian).
  28. Palitai, I.S., & Maiorova, M.A. (2019). The Young generation of the Russian political elite: socio-demographic profile. Bulletin of the Moscow State linguistic University, 3, 160–173. (In Russian).
  29. Ponedelkov, A.V. (2004). Modern Russian elites: features of genesis. Interactions and positioning in power. Political science, 1, 138–159. (In Russian).
  30. Rakityansky, N.M. (2002). Psychological portrait of a political leader (search methodology). In Russia in the conditions of transformation (Vol. 20, pp. 89–91). Moscow: FRPC. (In Russian).
  31. Rakityansky, N.M. (2008). Psychological portraiture in political science practice. M.: “Interpress”. (In Russian).
  32. Rogozar, I.I. (2011). Executive leadership federal ministers: The impact of personality on the role of a minister: Dis. ... Cand. polit. M.: Moscow State University. (In Russian).
  33. Samsonova, T.N., & Shpuga, E.S. (2016). Political leadership in the face of modern challenges. Bulletin of the Moscow University. Series 18. Sociology and political science, 4, 142–163. (In Russian).
  34. Selezneva, A.V. (2007). Main approaches to the analysis of political values in modern Russia. Bulletin of Perm University. Political Science Series, 1, 128–134. (In Russian).
  35. Selezneva, A.V. (2010). Political and psychological approach to the study of the value component of a politician’s personality in the context of the problem of human capital. Bulletin of the Moscow University. Series 12. Political Sciences, 3, 34–39. (In Russian).
  36. Selezneva, A.V., Rogozar-Kolpakova, I.I., Filistovich, E.S., Trofimova, V.V., Dobrynina, E.P., & Strelets, I.E. (2010). Russian political elite: Analysis from the point of view of the concept of human capital. Polis. Political Studies, 4, 90–106. (In Russian).
  37. Shestopal, E.B. (Ed.). (2019). Power and leaders in the perception of Russian citizens. A quarter of a century of observations (1993–2018). M.: The Ves’ mir. (In Russian).
  38. Shestopal, E.B., & Selezneva, A.V. (2012). Psychological analysis of the Russian political class. Bulletin of the Russian humanitarian scientific foundation, 1(66), 91–98. (In Russian).
  39. Shestopal, E.B., & Selezneva, A.V. (Eds.). (2012). Human capital of Russian political elites. Political and psychological analysis. Moscow: ROSSPEN. (In Russian).
  40. Shestopal, E.B., & Selezneva, A.V. (Eds.). (2015). The modern elite of Russia: political and psychological analysis. M.: AGRAMAK MEDIA. (In Russian).
  41. Shestopal, E.B. (Ed.). (2002). Psychology of power perception. Moscow: Socio-political thought. (In Russian).
  42. Shutov, A.Yu., Rudov, V.V., Ponedelkov, A.V. et al. (2013). Modern regional elites (sociological analysis). YURIF Ranepa publishing house, Rostov. (In Russian).
  43. Trofimova, V.V. (2011). Main channels of recruitment of the modern Russian political elite. In Political leadership and personality problems. Polis. Political Studies, 2, 63–64. (In Russian).
  44. Trofimova, V.V. (2011). Political and psychological features of the recruitment process of the modern Russian political elite. Business. Society. Power, 7, 228–239. (In Russian).
  45. Turovsky, R.F. (Ed.). (2002). Politics in the regions: governors and influence groups. Moscow. (In Russian).
  46. Turovsky, R.F. (2017). Governor’s elections in post-Soviet Russia: changes and continuity. In XVII April international scientific conference on the problems of economic and social development (pp. 160–167). Moscow: HSE Publishing House. (In Russian).
  47. Visser, B., Book, A., & Volk, A. (2017). Is Hillary dishonest and Donald narcissistic? A HEXACO analysis of the presidential candidates’ public personas. Personality and Individual Differences, 106, 281–286.
  48. Winter, D., Hermann, M., Weintraub, W., & Walker, S. (1991). The Personalities of Bush and Gorbachev Measured at a Distance: Procedures, Portraits, and Policy. Political Psychology, 12, 215–245.
  49. Wolfenstein, V. (1967). The Revolutionary Personality: Lenin, Trotsky, Gandhi. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
  50. Yushkina, N.A. (2019). The influence of educational paths on the formation of the managerial elite in the Russian federal authorities. GUU University Herald, 11, 176–183. (In Russian).
  51. Zorin, V.A. (2002). The problem of perception of the image of a politician in the context of studying his personality. In E.B. Shestopal (Ed.), Political and psychological problems of mass consciousness research (pp. 149–162). Moscow: Aspect Press. (In Russian).
  52. Zorin, V.A. (2003). The role of the personality factor in the formation of the presidency in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus: a political-psychological analysis of personalities V.V. Putin, L.D. Kuchma and A.G. Lukashenko: Dis. ... cand. political sciences. M.: Moscow State University. (In Russian).

Copyright (c) 2021 Matiusova A.I.

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

This website uses cookies

You consent to our cookies if you continue to use our website.

About Cookies