Political elites of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia during 1990‒2019: the main results of transformation

Abstract

The article examines the transformation of power groups in Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia during the period 1990‒2019: from the proclamation of independence of the Baltic states and the dismantling of the previous ruling institutions to the formation of a new political order by the elites. The objective is to identify the main factors of transformation of the channels and mechanisms for the recruiting of power groups and to determine the general and specific features of this process, to correlate them with the key decisions of the elites that have determined political priorities of the Baltic states. In order to quantitatively analyze changes in the composition of the elites, data from open sources on the background of 886 political figures in Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia were assessed. Up to 53% of evaluated cases are representatives of parliaments, 40% are members of governments, 7% are presidents and their advisers, meanwhile, 252 cases are from Lithuania, 271 ‒ from Estonia and 363 ‒ from Latvia (the greater number of registered parliamentary electoral cycles – 9- were registered in Latvia, along with 7 in Lithuania and 8 in Estonia). The analysis is based on parliamentary electoral cycles due to the parliaments decisive role in the political systems of the Baltic countries in accordance with the Constitution. The transformation of the power groups in Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia took place in a similar political and historical context. However, it is not correct to talk about a single “Baltic elite” as a community of power groups of the three countries consolidated at the interstate level. The general features of the transformation of power groups in Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia along with the peculiarities inherent in each country are revealed. Thus, among the elite of Estonia there are the fewest number of representatives of the ex-nomenklatura, Latvia is the leader in the number of proteges of business in power, Lithuania ranked first in terms of the number of politicians with foreign origins. Today, the Baltic states elites more often act like competitors than like-minded people, although they retain elements of political coordination, in particular, dealing with Russia.