The article is devoted to an important issue — evaluating innovation potential of modern subfederal Russian political elite through the analyses of their value system. The empirical basis of the article was the sociological survey «Recruitment of Political Leaders of Municipal and Regional Levels in Modern Russia: the Problem of Improving Social and Political Proficiency» conducted by the Russian Political Science Association in 2012. The researchers used methods of non-formal interviews and focus groups. The author makes the case for the reasons for the lack of significant ideological differences in the mindsets of the elite and the inevitable generation gaps in basic value paradigms of subfederal political elites. It has been concluded that the group under study has a limited ability for innovative activity that can lead to modernization of Russia.