ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the opinions of people with some expert knowledge of politics in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics under Gorbachev and in Russia under Eltsin. In comparing the elite support of the Gorbachev and Eltsin periods, two comparative tables have been constructed. The first based on the backgrounds of the persons named in the responses and the second on the institutions named by the respondents. Positional considers the occupants of authoritative posts. Reputational refers to opinions about who is thought to have power. Two other methodologies may be used in the analysis of political power: the decisional—based on the study of actual decisions and the distributional which considers the effects of decisions. Influence varied by type of decision: regional interests appearing to be more decisive in the formation of the Union Treaty and economic advisers more influential on the introduction of the market.
