ABSTRACT
This chapter is a study of reform and political change in Omsk from the failed August coup through 1992. In Omsk, local politics is animated by a variety of factors. The most dominant of these is the activity of elites, both old and new, in positions of influence. 1 There are, however, other factors at work, not the least of which are the weak and confused state of essentially new oblast, city, and lower administrative and governmental organs. The interplay of elites and institutions in Omsk helps explain why Yeltsin’s reforms have bogged down, and reflects the current dynamics of local politics in Russia.
