Sociological retrospective analysis study of recruiting principles for Russia's diplomatic services

The paper examines recruitment methods for the Russian diplomatic service in the pre-institutional and primary institutional periods (XV-XVII centuries). The relevance of the issue is related to the role of diplomacy under increasing international tensions, the increasing demands on the human resource capacity of foreign policy efforts, and the lack of multidimensional sociological research devoted on the professional group of diplomats. On the basis of a retrospective analysis, a number of new provisions are formulated in the context of the historical and social development of the country and the peculiarities of the activities of actors in international relations. Factors influencing entry processes into the profession are systematized: governmental policies regarding the formation of diplomatic services and missions; professional family succession; level of education, etc. The hierarchical structure of the bureaucracy as well as embassies and missions within the social community - the subject of collective action in diplomacy - is presented and analyzed. Examples are given of the professional trajectories of civil servants. The current state of recruitment processes is assessed and suggestions for improvement elaborated. The empirical basis for the paper was the research of domestic sociologists, historians, political scientists, diplomats, and the findings of public opinion surveys and expert polls.