Professional-personal potential of the domestic political elite: factors and vectors of contemporary changes

The article discusses the relevant problem of the personal and professional potential of one of the leading strata of modern society — the political elite. It is precisely this potential that should shape the image of the elite personality itself, distinguishing it from other social subjects, both individuals and groups. In recent years, research has paid more attention to the psychological and axiological features of the basic traits and structure of personal or professional potential. The specifics of their manifestation in various social groups, including public servants, are being studied. This study focuses primarily on the features of the professional and personal potential of the elite. It determines the basic specificity of the modern Russian elite, where mobilization factors with the dominance of the political and status components predominate. In achieving the goals set, the author pays attention to the analysis of both objective factors (civilizational and regional), and subjective-personal factors (including the influence of socialization processes, generational, demographic, educational, and career trajectories). Their consideration (along with the content analysis of the biographies of 671 representatives of the federal and 165 regional elite groups (using the example of a typical 26 economic indicators of the Saratov region and equally typical indicators of the Middle Volga region of the Volgograd region) allowed the conclusion about the formation of a special hybrid type of professional and personal potential. It is characterized by formal-position characteristics, which somewhat suppress (but, in some cases, do not exclude) creative-personal characteristics.