Russian Society in 1990—2023: An Empirical Assessment of Social Structure, Life Quality, and Socio-Psychological Climate

Abstract

The article examines some of the results of thirty years of development of post-Soviet Russia, reflected in the results of mass population surveys. The authors focus on changes in the society’s structure, the quality of life, and the social and psychological climate under the influence of political, social, and economic processes. Empirically, the study bases on the All-Russian monitoring carried out by the Center for the Study of Social and Cultural Changes of the RAS Institute of Philosophy in 1990—2023. Eight rounds were conducted based on the samples representing citizens aged over 18 years old by gender, age, education, and type of settlement. The social structure of Russian society is considered in two aspects — the material differentiation of the population and the formation of the middle class. The quality of life is represented according to a set of indicators, namely, assessment of material and social components, the state of the immediate social environment, ecology, and social well-being as a resulting indicator of the quality of life. The authors consider the features and changes of the social and psychological climate, relationships at different levels of the social hierarchy, and value orientations in a dynamic perspective.

The study reveals significant changes in material differentiation: a reduction in the number of the poorest, a significant increase in the affluent strata, which make up half of the respondents, and a slight increase in the top two strata — the wealthy and the rich. A positive result of the 33-year period was the formation of a fairly large middle class (30% of the population), which, along with the wealthy strata, plays a stabilizing role in society. The analysis shows a strengthening of the material component of the quality of life among a significant part of the population. The biggest complaints were expressed about receiving good medical care and having access to education. In addition, the authors point out high level of vulnerability to poverty noted by respondents, despite fairly good indicators of the standard of living.

The study reveals contradictory modes of value consciousness across different demographic groups. In particular, the importance of the values of morality and sacrifice is decreasing among young people. For Russian youth aged 18—24, the values of freedom and independence remain the most significant. With a slight decrease in their support compared to 2010 (83% and 79%, respectively), in 2015 and 2023 their importance for young people stabilized at the level of 62% (freedom) and 61% (independence).

Acknowledgments. The study was funded by the Russian Science Foundation, project No: 23-28-00539 “Values and Interests of the Russian Population in the Context of Civilizational Challenges (the Eighth Wave of the All-Russian Monitoring)”.