In this chapter, we apply what we have learned so far about factions in the BSSR to three sets of events within the system. First, we inquire into the matter of the effect that factional affiliation has had on elite mobility patterns in the BSSR for those who entered political careers through the various channels that supply recruits. Secondly, we take up the particular case of women within the system. We are concerned in this respect to compare the range of political offices occupied by women in the BSSR against the profile of female political roles which has been established by a number of scholars for the USSR as a whole and to ask here, as well, if differences among Belorussian women with regard to career chances can be accounted for on the basis of factional affiliation. Finally, we examine the matter of negative sanctions - official criticism, reprimands and publicly announced dismissals from office - and ask again whether factional affiliation accounts for the patterns in the data.

The influence of faction on mobility patterns

One dimension of the influence of factional affiliation on our sample of Belorussian officeholders concerns mobility. Does membership in a particular patronage group enhance one's chances for promotion to higher office? We address this question by examining the career histories of 361 individuals who can be identified from the data sources as having begun their political activity as either, (1) party secretaries, trade union officials, or executives in industrial firms, (2) officers in the Belorussian Komsomol, or (3) skilled workers who rose to executive positions in various industrial enterprises but who did not previously occupy party or trade union offices within them.