ABSTRACT
Since the collapse of the Soviet Union in late 1991, both the Russian political system and the political consulting market have evolved substantially. In the second decade of Russian independence, it has become almost impossible to win an election on a non-professional basis. Allied to this has been the increasing role of administrative backing in electoral campaigns, in the gray area between partisan politics and the state. As the value of political office has increased— and, in the Putin era, the numbers of elected political offices have declined—professional and well-resourced campaigns have become more important.
