Russian Society in the Context of Crisis Realities

M. Gorshkov • RUSSIAN SOCIETY…60us to make signifi cant adjustments to the familiar notion that the behavioral patterns of modern Russians are based on the ideas of collectivism and individualism. As convincingly demonstrated by the sociological monitoring of the transformation processes in Russian society (including, but not limited, to the research carried out by IS RAS), Russians are no less individualistic than many citizens of developed countries. The social history of Russia over the past fi fty years has been inextricably intertwined with the mass motivation to transition to a «consumer society», and thus may be regarded as the history of individualistic values and of the way they developed and asserted themselves. It is evident that the crises that modern Russia has had to live through have not «dulled down» this trend; on the contrary, they have made it even more relevant.As the system of cultural norms and values drifts from collectivism to individualism, we can distinguish two opposing worldview models: activism and passivity. The followers of the fi rst model, dubbed «super activists» in IS RAS studies, are characterized by a high level of civic involvement and a strong sense of self-responsibility. Those who adheres to the second model, the so-called «everymen», tend to have a more inert and superfi cial stance on life1.According to the results of the study’s second and fourth waves, super activists are very committed to being self-suffi cient, standing up for themselves, and fi nding new things to learn (the overall share of such people among the respondents amounted 1 Sedova N.N. (2016) Zhiznennye prioritety: ot potrebnostej i interesov k dejstviyu [Life Priorities: From Needs and Interests to Actions]. In: Rossiiskoe obschestvo i vyzovy vremeni. Kniga 4 [Russian society and Challenges of the Time. Book Four] (2016) / Ed. by Gorshkov M.K., Petukhov V.V. Moscow: Izdatel’stvo Ves Mir: 105-130. (In Russ.)