Russian Elite Families: Methods of Study and Practices of Functioning

The paper analyzes the phenomenon of “elite family”. The first postulate is the question of what are the features of studying the elite as a social community and what are the possibilities for applying qualitative research methods. The key attention is being drawn to the fact that the biographical method has a serious potential in studying the elite and powerful practices, empirical possibilities of applying the method of structured biography and traditional biographical interview are considered. On the basis of primary and secondary empirical data (analysis of interview materials), the problem of the role that family resources play in the reproduction of elite positions (using the example of elite families) is resolved. These cases allow us to reveal the corpus of ideas of the political and economic elite about the role and functions of the family, educational and cultural capital: who is the main carrier of capital, the ways and forms of its transfer and inheritance. A separate focus in the work is devoted to consideration of the interaction between sport and family as social institutions.