Members of the government and deputies of the State Duma of the Russian Federation: careers in business after leaving office
The article is devoted to a business career of members of the Government of the Russian Federation and deputies of the State Duma after leaving office. The empirical study is based on the biographical database of deputies of the State Duma of the 1-6 convocations, who at least once dropped out of it as of the first half of September 2016, and members of the Russian government in the post- Soviet period, who at least once left this body as of August 2017. A study showed that working in business (most often in key positions) is the most common type of professional experience of statesmen after leaving office, with former ministers working in the commercial sphere more often than ex-legislators. However, many deputies, and especially members of the government, do not immediately transfer to companies, so that business as the first known place of work after retirement is inferior to administrative bodies. As for transitions to big business and, in particular, joining the economic elite of the all-Russian level, they are much more characteristic of former ministers than of deputies. The typicality of a post-government and post-Duma career in business, on the one hand, is, to some extent, a form of expression and a way of consolidating the “crony” character of Russian capitalism, in which connections with state power are the most important condition for the accumulation of capital and are very significant for companies. On the other hand, it is associated with business-friendly policies of statesmen who may be inclined to adapt their behavior to the interests of a potential, future employer and are rewarded by prominent posts by firms for their loyalty to business interests during their tenure.