The preceding chapters demonstrate that patronage networks have been central to Soviet political life. But contemporary dilemmas and political reforms are altering the fundamental conditions under which clientelistic politics operate. The late 1980s and 1990s are a period of transition, with Gorbachevian initiatives leading to a profound restructuring of Soviet power relations. Power and authority are being redistributed and shared among a widening set of actors. Reforms are changing the procedures by which policies are developed and implemented. These changes are transforming elite behavioral norms, including network politics.

Even in the Soviet polity of the Gorbachev period, however, patronage relations continue to help politicians to consolidate power, bridge interests, and forge coalitions. There is evidence that high-level officials still favor long-time associates, and aspiring politicians still use connections to ascend to the political hierarchy. Nevertheless, perestroika and the emergence of a Soviet civil society complicate politicians' efforts to transfer power to favored protégés. The political opportunity structure is being fundamentally altered, as new interests influence elite recruitment and the policy process. Traditional patronage entourages that once so dominated Soviet political life are giving ground to short-term and multifaceted alliances that merge a variety of elite and societal interests. Contemporary powerful officials – system patrons – are still sponsoring allies and politicians into high-level positions, but these relationships are based less and less in long-term past associations and more in common interests and perspectives that conform with the needs of the present.