The study of the phenomenon of elites in the context of federal relations is conditioned by the fact that their structure and principles of constitution have developed in the period of delimitation of powers between the federal, regional and local institutions of power, which led to the formation of certain types of interactions between the centre and the subjects, the composition of the territorial elites and mechanisms of their formation. The author has developed two hypotheses within the framework of the presented work. First, domestic federalism implies the existence of three main models of relations between the central and territorial governing structures ("national republic", "modernized region" and "depressed region"). Secondly, the positioning of elites in power at the local level and the models of federal relations operating in these entities are in direct correlation. In order to test the above-mentioned assumptions, it seems appropriate to turn to the example of a number of regions of the Volga Federal District. This monograph will be of interest to teachers of social sciences and humanities, postgraduate students, students and specialists in the field of state and municipal administration.