The North-South problem: on the possibilities of comparing interregional inequalities in Italy and Russia

The article examines the possibilities and scientific prospects of comparative studies of interregional differences and inequalities in Russia and Italy. These countries, located at a considerable distance, belonging to different geographical zones, cultural environments and civilisational areas, differ significantly in their global status. Despite the self-evident nature of these differences, they have long been perceived in both the Russian and Italian research traditions as countries subject to comparison. They act for each other - and to a large extent because of the same differences - as a conceptual resource, an element of the external environment and external surroundings, a source and factor of development. This comparability has its regional dimension. It extends to the field of research on interregional inequalities and contradictions, examining the dialectic of "center - regions" and forming a special comparative direction in terms of research methodology. This study is an excursion into the field of historical, sociological and political regional studies. The author evaluates the achievements and results obtained by domestic and Italian authors, as well as the prospects for scientific developments in this area. Interregional inequalities, inevitable for Italy, which was among the countries that "came second", given their relatively late introduction to the technogenic civilisation, have acquired the meaning and significance of a national problem. Almost from the moment of the emergence of a single Italian state, it has been known as the southern question. The North-South dichotomy in Italy is the embodiment of regional differences, disproportions, and contradictions. It reflected the conflict between the unification of traditionalist social structures and the need to preserve their diversity. This dichotomy remarkably seemed to anticipate the formula of the same name of modern times, which denotes the division and split of the modern global world into rich northern and poor southern countries. In conceptual schemes of variability, that is, on the one hand, unity and similarity, and on the other, differences between Russia and Italy, including in the field of comparative regional studies, contrasting comparisons, which were more or less rightfully attributed a constant character, have long prevailed. This established picture of variability has undergone significant modifications in the process of erosion of political subcultures of both the left and right persuasion, secularisation and rationalisation of public consciousness. The author concludes that the example of Italy shows how archaic social practices can be combined with modern technologies, and this can give rise to very bizarre social collisions.

Russia, Italy, comparative regionalism, regional inequalities, unification, diversity, contrast comparations, variability, constant inequalities