The project’s research question is how socialization in the energy sector shapes convictions and policy choices of elite members in Russia and in Kazakhstan at the national and at the sub-national levels. In Kazakhstan and in Russia, as two countries with strong energy sector universally seen as a backbone of the national economy, socialization effects from studying at energy-related universities or taking over managerial positions in energy companies are likely to be particularly strong and lasting. Using a wide array of datasets and methods (in particular, sub-national data from the Russian Federation and text-as-data methods applied to the rhetoric of relevant elite groups), we intend to find out whether members of the elites occupying different positions in the political hierarchy, who have an “energy past” (oil, gas, hydropower and nuclear energy) have different visions of the long-term development of their country, economic reforms and political development, rely on different networks and perform differently in terms of policy outputs. The project speaks to the emerging political science literature on how biographical pathways affect choices made by politicians.