Book chapter
Middle class in contemporary Russia
This article analizes the middle class in Russia
Features of investments in human capital made by Russian middle class representatives are analyzed in this article. It is shown that despite higher level of investments compared to other social groups, middle class itself is characterized by recent negative trends in regards to human capital which could affect perspectives of the country in general.
This handbook's contributing autors are leading sociologists in the four countries. They fill the gap in existing literature and examine specifically the changes in each society from the perspective of social stratifications.
This paper represents an initial report on findings fro a study aimed at analyzing several key aspects of middle class development in the Russian regions, namely:
• Federal and regional government programs to stimulate the growth of the middle class (content, tools of implementation, effectiveness); • Behavioral strategies and economic behavior (consumption patterns, propensity to save, investment) of different sections of Russian middle class; • Middle class value orientation and political preferences (including preferences for democracy).
The selection of regions for our study was made after consultations with the leading Russian experts on regional problems: Irina Busygina, Leonid Smirniagin, Nikolai Petrov, and Rostislav Turovsky. Their expertise and readiness to help us significantly aided us in choosing our case studies. The criteria we used in selecting regions were the following:
• A relatively high level of urban development (this excludes backward regions); • Variation in the level of socio-economic development: region-donor versus region-recipient of federal financial assistance; • Political orientation of the regional government: democratic versus authoritarian.
Socio-economic development in the Arab world is an important element of global pattern changes in the early 21st century. They show a complex interaction of processes in the masses of the new young "Internet generations" and the elites, and somewhat forgotten gastarbiters. Matrix of kingdoms and republics, oil and non-oil countries make situation more complex for the region than for any separate country. From our viewpoint the political spring in the Arab world requires, first of all, the analysis of the Arab society, its nature and characteristics that distinguish it from societies of the Christian tradition of Europe and the Americas. And is it revolt of the middle class in one oil country or a rebellion of tribes? The new middle class, the information revolution and the dispossessed masses, including migrant workers in the background of the huge concentration of wealth of the ruling regimes represent the socio-economic reality of the Middle East that will be present in international politics in the next decade. And finally - to what extent the lesson of Lybia can be applicable to other oil countries? What may be lessons for other elites?
This paper represents an initial report on findings for a study aimed at analyzing several key aspects of middle class development in the Russian regions (subjects of Federation - oblasts, krays, autonomous republics), namely: Federal and regional government programs to stimulate the growth of the middle class (content, tools of implementation, effectiveness); Behavioral strategies and economic behavior (consumption patterns propensity to save, investment) of different sections of Russian middle class; Middle class value orientation and political preferences (including preferences for democracy).
The article presents the basic results of empirical check of the model of infl uence of valuable heterogeneity of a society on social dynamics. According to the author of the theoretical model (M. Urnov), this infl uence is caused by presence in a society of the groups, being in referential relations, that is relations in which one groups play a role of samples, and others - imitators. Thus the model of an elementary particle of social changes is a certain pair of the social groups connected by the referential relation.
The focus of this book - the middle class of post-Soviet countries
Based on the data of European Social Survey we made a research of the opinion of the middle class on the welfare and social assistance, the main functions of the state in resolving a number of social issues in different countries with different models of social policy. The results of investigation showed that the population's vision of the role of the government in solution of the social problems, as well as of its general functions is different in various countries. Besides we can speak about a certain difference of attitudes of the middle class and working class regarding the social support program.
social policies, Middle class, working class, Public opinion, welfare