The article deals with the main social-economic conditions determining the evolution of the post-soviet elite. It reveals the social-cultural context of developing its special psychological characteristics. The article presents the causes of modernization values weakness in the structure of high social stratum motivation in connection with the particular human assets features (the dominance of clan and clientism systems, the prevalence of particularism over the state interests, high level of interelite conflict intensity). The elite recruitment problem mechanisms as well as probable alternatives of its transformation are edentified.