Brezhnev and his generation of soviet leaders are the beneficiaries of the stalin terror, if only by surviving it. They are the products of a political school beside which the mafia pales in comparison. In many cases these men quite literally built their careers on the bodies of more competent, but less politically agile (or lucky) colleagues. Their principal attributes were obedience, political loyalty, ruthlessness, and the ability to produce results without counting the cost. The men they have selected and trained as subordinates are the second generation inheritors of the stalin legacy. In many cases, they are old enough to remember the terror. In addition, they remember the war; indeed, they tend to apply the experience of the war in situations very different from those of the 1940's- The soviet elite has very shallow roots. It is no exaggeration to say that many of its members are only a generation or two removed from their peasant origins. In the twenties, the soviets purged almost all technically competent people in russia and replaced them with hastility-trained and inexperienced personnel who were suddenly placed into positions of great responsability and power. This upward social mobility was maintained by the massive Stalin Purges. However, mobility has all but disappeared during the brezhnev years and been replaced by a vast army of parvenu officials intent on preserving their newly elevated status.
- Members of the soviet elite live in a bizarre world of cinderella privileges. The considerable creature comforts they enjoy (choice apartments, cars, dachas, special stores, etc.) are only the perquisites of their positions and can vanish if political status is lost. Unlike members of elites in the west, they cannot convert their status into real property which can be enjoyed at leisure or passed on to their heirs. The soviet elite must therefore perpetuate itself in positions of power because it cannot perpetuate itself in ownership of property. The result is a fanatic dedication to job tenure and to obtaining advancement for their children through influence peddling
Ya lo predijo el viejo León en "La Revolucion Traicionada" (entre tantas otras cosas):
"Los privilegios, que no se pueden legar a los hijos pierden la mitad de su valor; y el derecho de testar es inseparable del derecho de la propiedad. No basta ser director de trust, hay que ser accionista. La victoria de la burocracia en ese sector decisivo crearía una nueva clase poseedora."
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