Under Dmitry Medvedev’s and now Vladimir Putin’s presidency, modernization was/is presented as a national imperative for the Russian government. It became a political slogan and a means by which to restore Russia’s power internally and externally. This campaign serves to push the agendas of some of Russia’s ruling elite within the larger ruling camp. This article tries to answer the following question: How do Russian elites understand modernization, both historically and within the current context? It concludes that Russian “political technologists”, who have been in power in the last 15 years, have become masters in the art of silencing the voices of those who take a critical view of the government’s policies.