The Phenomenon of Power and Political Leadership in Russia in a Historical Context

Abstract. The article analyzes the historical retrospective of political leadership in the context of the Russian phenomenon of power, which is characterized by a high level of its personification. The author highlights a set of characteristics of the power system in Russia and the archetypal image of a leader as a national leader in the mass public consciousness, dating back to the Roman tradition of paternalism. Rome as a metaphor
of imperial greatness has firmly entered the political culture of Russia and the West. It is shown that it was the formal political leaders, chieftains, mainly rulers and heads of state, who enjoyed the greatest authority in Russia. The “canonical” image of a political leader, its characteristic features and peculiarities of formation are revealed. It is noted that a special place in people’s memory was occupied by Russian rulers, who, on the one hand, were perceived as a symbol of power; on the other hand, they separated themselves from the political elite and acted as an independent subject of the power vertical. Historical examples show that the stability of the political system in Russia in various historical epochs was largely due to the trust of the masses in the image of the ruler, symbolizing the idea of public service and having levers of influence on political elites.

Keywords: political leader, government, ruler, leader, supreme power, political elite, Russian political culture, “serviceable” state.