Vol 25, No 2 (2025)

The transition to a multipolar world, the sovereignty of Russia and other countries have contributed to the actualization of the significance of all civilizations and cultures and to the recognition of the uniqueness of national development paths. The “universality” postulates of Anglo-Saxon theories have been criticized, and there is a demand for sociological knowledge based on civilizational and national-cultural specifics but not denying achievements of the world sociological thought [25; 26]. Today, a sovereign vector of producing sociological knowledge is in demand: “Russian society is at a ‘fork in the road’, and the choice of the direction of further development is complicated by the destructive impact of aggressive circles of the globalist community pursuing their own interests that are clearly different from the national interests of Russia” [63. P. 525]. Initially, sociological knowledge was formed in specific countries and aimed at diagnosing and resolving specific social contradictions. However, over time, nationally oriented theories began to internationalize, usually adapting to national social-cultural features. Globalization in the form of Americanization contributed to the fact that sociological theories created in the context of Western values were presented as “universal”, which became a geopolitical challenge for Russian education. There is a need for a complex path of sovereignty for Russian sociology: its contradictory processes are clear in the confrontation of Slavophilism, Westernism and Eurasianism at different stages of the country’s historical development. Many ideas about the originality of Russia and its sociology, developed by different generations of scientists who were sometimes in intellectual confrontation, are now updated - revived and modernized under synergistic complexities and the transition to a multipolar world. The author considers it promising to develop sovereign sociological knowledge based on the basic principles of Russian culture, Eurasian civilizational specificity and achievements of the world sociological thought.

The article considers history, prerequisites and consequences of the spread of New Age ideas and practices in contemporary society as a new form of spirituality that contributes to the emergence and spread of new religious movements (NRMs). The authors note that in the post-secular society, religious consciousness, (para) religious ideas and practices have become significant factors in social processes. While traditional religions lose their significance, there is an increasing influence on everyday consciousness of various esoteric and occult ideas and practices due to the impact of New Age spirituality on contemporary culture. The origins of such processes can be traced back to the second half of the 19th century - fashion for occultism and esotericism among the European and American intelligentsia and emergence of international religious movements of a new type (Baha’is in Iran, Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses in the USA, etc.). These forms of spirituality received a new impetus in the second half of the 1960s-1970s under the countercultural revolution which gave rise to mass fascination with “alternative spirituality” among students. In Western sociology, these processes were called “occult revival”. The authors consider features of nontraditional spirituality in Russia - from the emergence of such fashion among the intelligentsia in the 1970s to the mass wave of esotericism that swept over the Russian society in the 1990s. When speaking about the current situation, the authors emphasize the role of the Internet in the spread and formation of new religious movements, communities and ideologies and note the network nature and the lack of clear institutional boundaries in (para) religious communities. The article presents grounds for classifying NRMs and explains their influence on various spheres of culture and mass consciousness, which is the growing de-rationalization of everyday consciousness as eclectically combining elements of scientific, religious and occult pictures of the world.

The article, based on the empirical data of all-Russian surveys conducted by the Institute of Sociology of the FCTAS RAS, explains the dynamics of the public perception of social-economic inequalities over the past decade. The relevance of the research question is determined by the impact of inequality on the country’s sustainable development and public behavior. The author shows that the perception of inequalities in the Russian society in the 2020s has changed, but this dynamic differs for assessments of inequalities in general and of their impact on one’s life situation. In the first case, the views of Russians are more homogeneous and are characterized by an acute perception (despite some changes in recent years) of inequalities in society, regardless of their own situation. In the second case, Russians’ views to a greater extent depend on the personal objective situation and subjective well-being, and inequalities are perceived less painfully. In both cases, income inequality comes first due to being considered not only high but also unfair, although there are some positive changes. Among non-monetary inequalities that characterize the Russian society, the population perceives most acutely inequalities in the basic aspects of quality of life - in housing conditions and access to medical care. The author argues that today inequalities are assessed by Russians rather as a social problem that violates a fair social order than as affecting them personally. This complicates the task of reducing inequality on the part of the state, since the population demands not only improving the situation in areas with a high level of inequality but also implementing basic principles of justice in accordance with the normative-value ideas. At the same time, external challenges the country faces partially mitigate the perceived inequality and give the state room to maneuver.

Requalifi has become especially relevant in the contemporary postindustrial society characterized by dynamic social-technological changes, labor market transformation and, consequently, the need for professional adaptation. The article presents a comprehensive analysis of this social-economic phenomenon in today’s realities, under technological innovations, automation of production processes and globalization of economic relations radically changing the requirements for professional competencies. Methodological diffi in the study of requalifi are determined by the lack of its common understanding. The analysis of Russian and foreign research data shows that “requalifi and “professional retraining” are often perceived as synonyms, which distorts statistical data. An important research problem is the lack of systematic mechanisms for recording cases of a complete change of profession. As a rule, labor market monitoring systems record only facts of professional mobility without diff them by specifi areas/specialization or degree of change, which signifi limits opportunities for the analysis of effi of various models of professional adaptation. Requalifi is a complex multidimensional process that can be forced or proactive, full (cardinal change of professional sphere) or partial (expanded or deepened competencies). This phenomenon is closely related to various forms of professional mobility: upshifting (a higher professional position), downshifting (conscious decline in professional status) and horizontal. Each of these forms refl diff strategies of adaptation to changing labor market conditions and personal professional aspirations, thus, demonstrating the diversity of professional trajectories in the contemporary economy. Despite many vivid examples of successful career change, a systematic analysis of secondary data and surveys reveals a paradoxical trend: many people want to change their profession, but the majority of those who decided on radical retraining remain dissatisfi with its results, and this contradiction between media success stories and real situation requires further analysis. At the same time, the highest level of professional satisfaction is observed among workers who managed non-radical requalifi doctors who changed their fi of activity or drivers who changed their type of vehicle.

The article focuses on the insufficient development of ideas about the macroregional North Caucasian identity in both public policy and academic field. Macro-regional identity is considered a result of spatial-territorial identification, characterized by an understanding and a sense of belonging to macro-region and determined not only by geographical and naturalclimatic but also historical and emotional grounds, i.e. the North Caucasian macro-region has the dual nature - administrative and historical, natural-geographical and symbolic. The authors aim at identifying in the discourse of macro-regional identity those interregional ties that allow to define the North Caucasus as a single macro-region with macro-regional identity capable of strengthening the Russian national identity. The authors analyzed the discourse formed in the Telegram channels of representatives of regional and federal authorities: Heads of the Regions of the North Caucasus and the Plenipotentiary Representative of the Russian President in the North Caucasus Federal District. The empirical base consisted of 187 posts by the Heads of Regions in the North Caucasus Federal District, Rostov and Krasnodar Regions, which mention the North Caucasian community, and 170 posts in the official Telegram channel of the Plenipotentiary Representative of the Russian President in the North Caucasus Federal District. To identify the focus of the regional authorities’ discourse on the North Caucasian macroregional identity, the authors identified semantic units and combined them into several groups: culture, history, security, economy, tourism and religion. The positive field of identity is formed around the following “nodes”: maintaining peace and ensuring security; ethnic-cultural and natural-geographical uniqueness; Russian Caucasus (North Caucasus as a unique region of Russia). However, the North Caucasus is rather an episodic topic: the Heads of Regions strive both to develop regional identity and to integrate it into the national context. The discourse of macroregional identity in the Telegram channel of the Plenipotentiary Representative lacks “district agenda” in relation to identity. The authors argue that the real interregional network interaction could indicate the presence of macroregional integrity and form the basis for managing the multiethnic North Caucasus. A positive macroregional identity can be formed around the idea of development (for example, of tourism), and the idea of the Russian Caucasus would strengthen the all-Russian identity.

The article presents the results of the study of the perception of social cohesion in today’s Russia. The study consisted of two stages - expert and all-Russian - and was conducted with methods of expert assessments, focus groups and online survey in order to reconstruct a twosided view of social cohesion - from the point of view of experts (representatives of “close-knit communities”, who are involved in collective activities; such communities aim at uniting people within “person-to-person” activities, i.e. within the framework of providing assistance, following common ideals and values, contributing to a common cause) and the population as a whole. The assessments of these two categories of respondents differ significantly: experts consider the level of social cohesion in the Russian society as much lower, highlighting such factors contributing to solidarity as common values and traditions, a common goal or a problem, a common cause, a common enemy (not necessarily an external aggressor, certain difficulties or crisis situations are sufficient); responsibility, courage, motivation, personal interest; leaders who are ready to take responsibility and influence others. In the public opinion, social cohesion as defined primarily as mutual assistance and is also associated with common values and unity of opinion; Russians highly value the current level of mutual assistance, unity and social security. The main reasons for unity with other citizens in the Russian public opinion are the common territory of residence (state and small homeland) and common language. At the theoretical stage, the study showed that the problem of operationalization of concepts related to social cohesion remains, although most scientists define it mainly as solidarity based on common values. In the study, the authors conducted a comparative analysis of such key concepts as “social cohesion” and “solidarity”, including in the context of their classical and today’s interpretations.

In recent decades, the Russian society has experienced complex demographic processes caused by both objective factors of a global nature (population aging, declining birth rate, demographic transition, transformation of values and priorities of younger generations in the context of digitalization, unbalanced migration flows, etc.) and peculiarities of the social-economic and political-ideological development of the post-Soviet space (external ideological influence, unresolved issues accumulated during the Soviet period, ongoing education reforms, multiconfessional and multinational living space with many local and regional combinations of group and collective priorities, etc.). The state recognized the importance of demographic issues for ensuring national security by adopting policy documents to improve demographic indicators not only with financial means but also by setting clear value priorities for family and demographic policies for the long term. However, it is impossible to ensure demographic stability and security of the Russian society only with targeted efforts “from above” - it is necessary to consolidate the work of government agencies, scientific and educational institutions. Based on their specialized expert experience, the authors outline possible areas of such consolidation at three levels of social management - government target programs and national projects (conditional macro-level), expansion of professional horizons of young people through the inclusion of a historical and general demographic component in specialist training programs (conditional micro-level) and supplementation of the corporate culture of specific organizations with demographic issues (conditional meso-level). The article focuses, first, on possible strategies for including the corpus of demographic knowledge (and the corresponding block of demographic topics or disciplines) in the higher education curricula (research issues, thematic emphases, recommended literature, ideological component, etc.); second, on the need to introduce demographic issues into the system of corporate responsibility. The RUDN University is presented as an illustrative “case” that is actively rather than declaratively develops the demographic component in the Russian higher education and has already implemented a set of measures for corporate demographic policy in the system of the strategic university management.

The article presents an example of case study of practices of agricultural producers working not in the rural hinterland with the statistical majority of such producers but near Moscow. The authors conducted fi studies with the method of participant observation, which allowed them to see and record the overall picture of economic practices of farmers working near the megalopolis. The study showed that, as a rule, such practices are based on the specifi motivation and activity of suburban farmers, who strive to create a special ‘architecture’ from their self-organization initiatives. Based on the traditions of phenomenological sociology, the authors show the reader “phenomenology of suburban farming”. The suggested analytical perspective is somewhat diff from those popular in today’s research projects focusing on farming and social-economic trends and analyzing primarily organization-economic parameters of farms, the impact of state support and investment policy on increasing their competitiveness and ensuring opportunities for further development. In the fi study, the authors focused on both economic and social-cultural practices of farmers working in the immediate vicinity of Moscow. This approach and step-by-step tracking of productive eff of such farmers revealed the construction of rural-urban worlds on the example of the Moscow Region, in which suburban farmers produce not only various environmentally friendly agricultural products in demand by metropolitan residents but also a variety of recreational services. The originality of the study is determined by the fact that such cases are quite few in contemporary sociological research. In the fi study of the activities of suburban farmers, the authors observed a daily regime of real involvement in economic practices, which contributed to establishing trusting contacts with respondents.

The article is an essay based on two recently published in Russian popular science books, both mentioning the flat Earth in their titles (although one only in its Russian edition) but for solving different research problems. The first book by V. Giacomotto-Charra and S. Nony The Flat Earth : Genealogy of a False Idea reconstructs the myth about the origin of the flat Earth myth and could not do without detailed characteristics of the essence and factors of the formation of the flat-earthers movement. The second book by D. McRaney How Minds Change: The Surprising Science of Belief, Opinion, and Persuasion mentions this movement only on the very last pages (in the epilogue) due to the use of the concept of the flat Earth as a kind of scientific metaphor implying a multitude of different factors of the spread of unscientific and pseudoscientific ideas in the contemporary world which we prefer to perceive as a stronghold of scientific progress and a rational worldview. The article briefly summarizes the content of two books to confirm the proposed perspective of the perception of “flat-earthism” and provides “expert assessments” illustrating and complementing this perspective.

The article is a review of C. Marshall Cook’s Big Rural: Rural Industrial Places, Democracy, and What Next (Lanham: Lexington Books, 2024). This is an original study of the long-term rural-urban transformations of the Appalachian region, especially the Pocahontas coal deposit: the author briefly reconstructs social history of this region which until the second half of the 20th century was one of the main drivers of economic - not only industrial but also rural - growth in the United States, but for the past half-century has been in a long-term depression caused primarily by the depletion of local natural resources, which led to unemployment and demographic depopulation. The book shows the causes of the long-term degradation of nature and society in Appalachia based on the STS approaches, in which the objects of research act as laboratories not only for scientific-technical but also for social-humanitarian experiments. Marshall Cook emphasizes the importance of preserving local knowledge as a condition for sustainable territorial development. At the same time, the book contains to a certain extent declarative-activist theses of active resistance to depression in the Appalachian region with awareness and recognition of the role and responsibility of science for the development of grassroots democracy.