Worldview Specifics of Supporters of the Western Path of Development for Russia in Mass Population Strata

Social Sciences. 2023. Vol. 54. No. 4. P. 25–48.

Тихонова Н. Е.

This article relies on the results of the all-Russian public opinion poll (2022) to reveal the specifics of worldviews of consistent supporters of the pro-Western development path for Russia in comparison to their opponents’
positions and intermediary opinions. This research shows that the different attitudes of these groups toward the West are rooted in deeply different norms, values and views, as well as their socio-psychological specifics. These
differences stem from orientation toward either the interests of the community (and the state) or the interests of the individual and, correspondingly, human rights. This conflict mirrors the dual nature of Russian culture, poised
at the junction of individualistic cultures of the West and collectivist cultures of the East.
Usually, Westernizers can be found in “strong” social groups. However, even in the most prosperous groups (by age, settlement types, etc.) they are a minority. Westernizers constitute the majority only among urban young people,
who have obtained the most prestigious forms of higher education and were raised in families where both parents also had higher education. At the same time, being in an alien normative and value environment makes them
feel like strangers in their native country. As a result, they perceive the world pessimistically and largely mistrust not only power structures and civil society but also the people around them. Meanwhile the conviction that Russia should follow its own path and not look to the West dominates in all mass social strata. The norms, values and attitudes of those who consistently share this conviction can be seen as a normative value system that is characteristic of Russian culture. However, this does not mean that the views of supporters of a Western path of development
for Russia are alien to Russian culture. To evaluate the positions of these two groups in it, it is necessary to take into account not only their ratios in the mass strata of the population (7% and 54%, respectively), but also a number
of other circumstances – from their coexistence in Russia for more than a century to the presence of their members, although of varying proportions, in all strata and groups of Russian society.

Ключевые слова: values, public consciousness, mass consciousness, norms and attitudes, “Westernizers”, supporters of Western path of development for Russia