![]() ![]() And the implications have been powerful for Russian politics. 1 The rare disruptions in these patterns have been just that: rare disruptions of an enduring normality. ![]() This is a world of patrons and clients, patronage politics, and the dominance of informal understandings over formal rules – all features well documented by historians of Russia from its very origins. Indeed, when push comes to shove for individual actors in the system, personal connections tend to trump issue positions, ideology, or even identity. People can and sometimes do rally for a cause with others with whom they share no personal connection, but this is the exception rather than the expectation. The rule of law is typically weak, and what many call “corruption” or “nepotism” is the norm. These interpersonal connections can involve long-term relationships of diffuse exchange, as between close friends and relatives, but also elaborate systems of punishments and rewards that are meted out to specific individuals. In this environment, direct personal connections are not just useful, but absolutely vital to succeeding in politics and actually accomplishing anything once one secures office. Russian political actors experience patronalism as a particular kind of social environment in which they operate. While its seventy years of Communist rule often steals the limelight, Russia's weightiest political legacy is arguably something even older and more stubborn: patronalism. The most promising escape paths involve much longer-term transitions through diversified economic development and integration with the Western economy, though one cannot entirely rule out that a determined new ruler might accelerate the process. In at least the next decade, Russia is unlikely to escape the patronalist equilibrium, which has already withstood major challenges in 19. ![]() The “chaotic” Yeltsin era reflects low network coordination, while the hallmark of the Putin era has been the increasingly tight coordination of these networks’ activities around the authority of a single patron. Russian politics from the tsars through Vladimir Putin has been shaped by patronalism, a social equilibrium in which personal connections dominate, collective action happens primarily through individualized punishments and rewards, and trends in the political system reflect changing patterns of coordination among nationwide networks of actual acquaintances that typically cut across political parties, firms, nongovernmental organizations, and even the state. ![]()
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