Preliminary Programme

Wed 12 April
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    11.00 - 13.00
    14.00 - 16.00
    16.30 - 18.30

Thu 13 April
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    11.00 - 13.00
    14.00 - 16.00
    16.30 - 18.30

Fri 14 April
    08.30 - 10.30
    11.00 - 13.00
    14.00 - 16.00
    16.30 - 18.30

Sat 15 April
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Thursday 13 April 2023 14.00 - 16.00
J-7 ELI07 Elites in Post-socialist Societies
B44 (Z)
Network: Elites and Forerunners Chair: Jukka Kortti
Organizers: - Discussants: -
Mariam Chkhartishvili : The Role of Cultural Elites in the Processes of National Identities’ Forging: The Case of Georgia
Under the term “cultural elite” I imply the relatively small group of people who because of their intellectual abilities, educational background and distinguishing social courage can deeply influence other members of the society. Because of charisma they can infect the fellow countrymen with the ideas and direct them to the ... (Show more)
Under the term “cultural elite” I imply the relatively small group of people who because of their intellectual abilities, educational background and distinguishing social courage can deeply influence other members of the society. Because of charisma they can infect the fellow countrymen with the ideas and direct them to the specific goals even without exercising any political authority. After receiving the inspirations from the non-elite majority, the cultural elites amplify the social impact of the messages from below articulating them in the relevant manner. It is logical to expect that the people of this kind will be leaders of national consolidations processes. And, in fact. they lead these processes. The role of cultural elites is especially noticeable in case of those nations which are not direct products of modernization, but were constructed on a ground of nationalisms. At first. the potential nation’s cultural elite creates national identity narrative, then disseminate it within the native community through various media. This gives to the in-group social cohesion additional strength and prepares soil for the emergence of national community.
In the presentation I intend to display some facts illustrating the contribution of Georgian cultural elite in “making” modern Georgian nation. In particular, I will be concerned with two crucial moments in the history of Georgian identity: the second half of the nineteenth century and the second half of the twentieth century. Both points are associated with the movements for emancipation of Georgia from imperial burdens: from the Romanov Russia and from the Soviet Union (actually being nothing but re-packaged Russian Empire). The struggle for emancipation in both cases ended with success of Georgians: with emergence of independent national states. The gaining of political armor was very important for the maintenance of Georgian identity. In both cases the emergence of independent states was predated by the creation of national identity narratives. Two outstanding representatives of Georgian cultural elite: Ilia Chavchavadze (1837-1907) – the eminent writer and public figure, “Father of Georgians” and Zviad Gamsakhurdia (1939-1993) the writer, academic, dissident leader, and the President of Georgia played the main roles in creating of these narratives.
These narratives were severely opposed by previous elite groups. In case of Chavchavadze these were so called “fathers” – old aristocracy, cultural and political elites. In case of Gamsakhurdia these were privileged representatives of Georgian Soviet intelligentsia. However, eventually, the ideas of Chavchavadze and Gamsakhurdia won over the ideas of old elites. Unfortunately, these leaders had to pay great price for this success: both of them were killed. The exact details of their assassinations are still uncertain. In 1987 Chavchavadze was canonized as a Saint of Georgian Orthodox Church, in 2013 the third President of Georgia Michael Saakashvili awarded Gamsakhurdia by the title of National Hero. In today’s Georgia these two have all national recognition. Thus, even after death the outstanding representatives of the cultural elites can influence the open-ended process of national identity forging. (Show less)

Nina Debruyne, Georgeta Nazarska : Elites, Non-elites, and Social Transition: a Case Study of Post-Communist Bulgaria
The article will examine the transformation of the elites in post-communist Bulgaria between 1989 and 2007 in times of acute social crisis and transition from totalitarianism to democracy. The formation of new political, economic and cultural elites destroyed the established social structure and created new horizontal and vertical social hierarchies ... (Show more)
The article will examine the transformation of the elites in post-communist Bulgaria between 1989 and 2007 in times of acute social crisis and transition from totalitarianism to democracy. The formation of new political, economic and cultural elites destroyed the established social structure and created new horizontal and vertical social hierarchies with new leaders. It will pay special attention to the recruitment of new elites from three marginalized communities, whose social inequalities far from posing serious limitations, aided their vertical mobility.
The first group consists of professional heavy athletes (wrestlers, judokas, boxers, etc.), who in the early 1990's lost their affiliations with the totalitarian state and moved to the security business. Known simply as ‘wrestlers’, they were initially used by the former communist nomenklatura, but soon assumed control, often through criminal activities, over key industries. Subsequently, some of them entered the financial sector (currency exchange, insurance, banking), invested in industry, trade and tourism, and became large entrepreneurs. Others took part in the founding of nationalist-populist parties. Their inexperience, young age, and very low educational or vocational qualifications turned from shortcomings into social capital, which ushered them into the new economic elite.
The second group consists of Roma and Turkish musicians who in the early 1990s, undisturbed by totalitarian censorship and state regulations, began performing their ethnomusic. Most of them had no musical or general education, and had seldom performed on the big stage. Entering the scene as doubly marginalized (non-professionals and from different ethnic and religious background), they were perceived as hostile "others". Their music was doubly marginalised, too in relation to popmusic and traditional folk music. By the early 2000s, the ethnopop had become the leader on the national music stage. The once poor and uneducated minority performers had become wealthy and influential stars establishing a hugely popular musical genre, ‘chalga’. From non-dominant, they became a dominant group, and from a counter-elite an elite. Some of them became also economic elites, while others entered politics.
The third example are the national populists. The group displays similar mechanisms of social mobility: a marginal origin (lower middle class, underclass and subclass, rural regions, lower than secondary education, frequently changing occupations), affiliations with crime and the “wrestlers” and the ‘chalga’ culture, regardless of their chauvinistic, racist, anti-Semitic views. From anti-elites in early 2000s, this group gradually established itself and became power (functional) elites.
Our paper will trace the recruitment, functioning, legitimation and reproduction of these three groups as examples of new elites in Bulgarian society in the late 20th and early 21st century, using both the perspectives of social anthropology and political science, and using quantitative and qualitative methods (survey, interviews and observation). It will emphasise legitimizing former marginalized groups as dominant ones. We will attempt to connect the theory of elites with that of subcultures, and to substantiate the hypothesis that the subcultural groups of heavy athletes, Roma and Turkish musicians and radical nationalists became the basis of new subcultures (‘wrestlers’, ‘chalga’ and ‘national populists’), which were transformed into new elites. (Show less)

Manuchar Guntsadze : Soviet Ideology, Religion and One Song
The regime in the Soviet Union had a great impact on the population living there. Influence implies powerful ideological elements. In the Soviet Union, considerable attention was paid to the conduct of basic ideological traits in almost every field, from song to science.
We can see scholars who, in the Soviet ... (Show more)
The regime in the Soviet Union had a great impact on the population living there. Influence implies powerful ideological elements. In the Soviet Union, considerable attention was paid to the conduct of basic ideological traits in almost every field, from song to science.
We can see scholars who, in the Soviet period, quoted the words of Lenin and Stalin, the sayings of Marx and Engels in their writings, and after the collapse of the Soviet Union began to criticize this whole system. Such examples abound, both in published papers and in the personal archives of scholars.
In addition, we can track the ideological change of the population. How was it that they, during the Soviet period, defended the cult of Stalin, but as soon as the system weakened, they began to fight for the independence of their republics.
Similar examples can be cited from many fields. We can see how ideological changes were reflected in films or theatrical performances, and how the clergy was disturbed by them. Not specific people, but as believers. The fact that there was a campaign against religion in the Soviet Union is not a foreign moment. Atheism was largely popular in the Soviet Union, but at the same time, other religions were declining.
As I have already mentioned, we can cite examples of how scientists and their approaches changed after their stay in the Soviet Union and its collapse, how new works were created, how new films were made, how new works of art were written, how people's attitudes and attitudes changed.
The most interesting and different are the cases when works, works, or songs are written not with a new, different approach, but with an existing, established change and its redistribution in the society.
To illustrate this I would like to cite just one such example. One of the most popular ensembles in the Soviet Union was "Iveria", which was formed in the Soviet Republic of Georgia. The songs of this ensemble were popular even after the collapse of the Soviet Union. One of the main focuses of my report is one of their popular songs, which was written in Georgian. Interestingly, the song has changed three times.
Its first version was created during the Soviet era, and its hilarious melody and words also negatively referred to the Archangel Gabriel, mockingly referring to paradise in a not-so-important context, and the emphasis shifted to worldly life and fun.
The second version of the song was created after the collapse of the Soviet Union when the church gradually became popular and the atheism of the Soviet period in Georgia was gradually replaced by Christian ideology. In the second version, attitudes and terms towards religion are more lenient.
Third, the last version was created at the beginning of the twenty-first century, when the church became the most popular institution in Georgia, the most popular person in the polls was the Patriarch of Georgia, and therefore the mention in the negative context of religion was not considered popular. Consequently, in the third version, we already find religious characters and terms in a positive context.
It clearly shows how the ideology of the country can be reflected in a seemingly simple song, which may not seem to have much impact, but in reality, it becomes a wonderful source to describe the existence of human consciousness, culture, and ideology. (Show less)

Anna Soulsby : The Formation and Re-Formation of the Managerial Elite in Post-Communist Societies: the Czech Republic
Underlying the dynamics of the political and economic shifts in the former state socialist societies of Central and Eastern Europe are fundamental processes of social re-formation. It has been argued that the pressures for political change for the most part originated from two levels: the grass roots and the top. ... (Show more)
Underlying the dynamics of the political and economic shifts in the former state socialist societies of Central and Eastern Europe are fundamental processes of social re-formation. It has been argued that the pressures for political change for the most part originated from two levels: the grass roots and the top. In many of the communist regimes, the former pressures for change had been resisted, through force if necessary, for many years, so it could be proposed that the critical element in tipping the balance during the months leading up to the revolutions in 1989 was the reorientation of the interests of those at the top. This has had paradoxical effects on the post-communist societal transformation. It is irrefutable that the changes in the political and economic systems of these countries have been revolutionary, a characteristic that has attracted so much Western academic interest in the problems and destinies of these countries. However, researchers who have considered the political and economic decision-making behind the changes have tended to suggest that the transition is being directed and driven by the same people as had misdirected and defended the politico-economic status quo before 1989.

Much of the discussion about the old social elites and the new emergent ones has been fairly abstract. Very little light has been cast upon the social and structural continuities and changes taking place at the local level of economic power. Yet, the study of local economic elites not only complements the more common strategy of researching changes in national political elites because there is little doubt that the former were always important parts of the communist ruling class. Their significance is potentially even greater because the managers of enterprises took decisions about privatisation, restructuring and rationalisation, which affected the lives of thousands of individuals, the vitality of local communities and, through a cumulative effect, the very structure and dynamics of the industry, the economy and society. It is relevant therefore to know whether and how the composition of the local economic elites has changed during the years of the post-communist transition and what their relationship is to the pre-1989 elites which in turn may offer insights into the general processes of post-communist elite re-formation.

In this paper, we shall draw on findings from an on-going enterprise-level research project to examine the structure and dynamics of the new post-communist managerial elites in the Czech Republic. The field research has been conducted since 1992, and has led to the accumulation of information about senior managers in four large former state-owned enterprises. We also examine patterns within the sample according to the managers' hierarchical position within the elite. In general, we shall argue that the new managerial elite has been re-formed around the same body of people who controlled the state socialist enterprise. We shall explore the dynamics of this re-formation and examine some of the factors which account for the processes and structures identified. (Show less)



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