The paper dwells on studying one of the most important processes defining the quality potential of the modern elite – recruiting elite groups. The political elite recruiting peculiarities defining this process, social factors and mechanisms are revealed. Special attention is paid to the analysis of the basic stages of the political elite recruiting at the regional level: Stage I – “quasi-free convergence” (1991–1993); Stage II – mutational (1994–2000); Stage III – “elite controlled recruiting” (2001–2011); Stage IV – mixed (hybrid) (2012 – present time).
