The role and place of the "Time of heroes" program in the recruitment system of the modern political elite of Russia

Introduction. Currently, the definition of the political elite is expanding significantly. Now it is customary to classify not only managers and civil servants as the elite: an elite recruitment program is being formed, which is based on the inclusion of military personnel and, first of all, participants in a Special military Operation. On behalf of the President of the Russian Federation, the "Time of Heroes" program was created. It involves the training of highly qualified, competent specialists in the field of public service and state administration from among the participants of the Special Military Operation. In the future, graduates of the program are expected to work in state and municipal authorities.

Purpose. Evaluation of the effectiveness of the Time of Heroes program, as well as its impact on ensuring the national security of the Russian Federation by analyzing the provisions of the documents, as well as the practice of recruiting and restructuring the existing political elite under the influence of the program implementation.

Materials and methods. In the course of the research, the author relied on a set of scientific methods of cognition, such as system-structural, formal-logical and specifically sociological methods, and also turned to cognitive techniques, namely: observation, comparison, generalization. The study was based on the provisions on elite recruitment, its formation, functions and roles, as well as the main aspects of the "Time of Heroes" program. The empirical base of the study was made up of scientific publications, current statistical data on the role of the political elite in the national security system and the results of the "Time of Heroes" program.

Results. The article examines the role of the political elite in the national security system, the process of its recruitment. The program "Time of Heroes" is analyzed, the purpose of its creation and the main aspects of training, the first results of the best graduates of the course and the key positions in the field of public administration headed by them are considered.

Conclusions. At the moment, the issue of ensuring national security is a key one in the field of state development, the role of the political elite in ensuring it is great. The Time of Heroes program is a fundamentally new step in the process of formation and development of the elite, thanks to which structural changes in the field of public administration are taking place: citizens who defended the borders of the country, aiming at enriching, developing and preserving the state, can occupy the highest government posts.

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