Ways to Optimize the Recruitment System of the Ruling Elite of Ukraine

The article considers the current problems of the quality of the Ukrainian ruling elite and possible ways to optimize its recruitment in the conditions of the Russian-Ukrainian war. The key parameters of the formation of the political class of Ukraine during the period of restoration of independence are analyzed. It is determined that the empirical analysis of the transformation of the Ukrainian political class shows its close connection with the previous power groups. It is emphasized that this connection can be traced to this day, because in the first years of independence a significant number of the former nomenclature of various levels retained high positions in the political and administrative sphere and quickly adapted to the new conditions, easily changing, depending on the situation, their own political positions and party affiliation. The inextricable interdependence of the elite recruitment process and the nature of the formed social relations is postulated. It is noted that among the mechanisms of elite recruitment, the dominant role of belonging to the «team» remains, connections, patronage, nepotism, etc. are necessary. It is established that the closedness and degradation of the political class of Ukraine was the result of the lost opportunity to reboot the government in the first decade of the restoration of the independence of the Ukrainian state. The scientific interest is aimed at studying various ways and methods of qualitative change of the current political class and its further transformation. The emphasis is on the spread of authoritarian styles of management and leveling the role of international institutions. The final conclusion of the work emphasizes that in conditions of full-scale armed aggression, when many processes are passing through a zone of turbulence, solving the problem of the quality of the managerial elite requires political will, determination of the political elite to change the principles of its own formation for the sake of preserving an independent Ukrainian state.