¹ 3, 2019
Religious Self-Identification of Respondents in Mass Surveys: What Is Behind Declared Religiosity?
The article presents the results of the research study Measurement of the degree of value solidarity and the level of social trust in the Russian society conducted by the ZIRCON Research Group in late 2018 — early 2019. The main goal of the study was to identify value orientations of Russians, determine the unifying potential of diverse values and measure the level of social trust. A special section of the study was devoted to religious values, which made it possible to compare the religious identity of respondents with their value orientations, ideological attitudes and opinions on the current issues of the socio-political agenda.
The empirical data obtained in the course of the study indicate that the declared religiosity of Russians is often superficial (nominal), unstable, and is not supported either by appropriate religious practice or ethical views and value orientations. Its influence on the ideological and political choices of citizens is minimal, and religious institutions do not seem to possess a serious potential for mass political mobilization.
According to the authors, the public consciousness of Russians is highly fragmented. If earlier it was possible to spot large groups of people with a holistic, logically consistent, internally connected worldview that can be regarded as a common set of ideological views (for example, Russian — Orthodox — loyal to the Russian Orthodox Church — against abortions, etc.), nowadays such integrity is absent. Ideological chains no longer unite people into large communities. The society is divided into quite narrow and at the same time very different in terms of their internal parameters groups. Any combination of three or four dimensions (issues, value ideological constructs) of public discourse divides the Russian society into small fragments.
DOI: 10.30570/2078-5089-2019-94-3-161-184
Pages: 161-184
¹ 2, 2018
“Frontier” Regions: Territorial Identity and Perception of “Specialness”
The article presents the results of the comprehensive study conducted by the ZIRCON Research Group in four frontier regions of Russia (Crimea, Primorsky krai, Kaliningrad and Murmansk regions) and two control regions located in the Russian geographic core (Kostroma region and Chuvashia). The research methods included collection of data on the current situation in the regions, mass opinion polls and a series of discussion focus groups that included representatives of (1) small and medium-sized businesses, (2) civil society, and (3) expert community. The sample included adult population of these regions at the age of 18 years and above. The sample size was five thousand respondents.
The study focused on the following components: the rootedness of the population (whether people are potentially ready to move to another region); territorial identity; perception of the region of residence and its population; perception of the characteristics of the inhabitants of the region; the level of trust and the propensity for solidarity; the level of openness; the presence/absence of “defence consciousness”; views on the prospects for the development of the region and its “mission”; the perception of the region as “special” in comparison with other regions of the Russian Federation; the level of political loyalty of the population; the perception of and the attitude to the “federal center”; the attitude to the expansion of the powers of the region.
The study’s ultimate aim was to reveal the link between the territorial identity of the population of the participating regions and their people’s perception of the prospects for the development of the region, including its relations with the federal center and other subjects of the Russian Federation.
DOI: 10.30570/2078-5089-2018-89-2-102-136
Pages: 102-136
¹ 2, 2016
RUSSIAN SOCIETY – 2020: EXPERT IMAGE OF THE FUTURE
The material published here represents a shorter version of the analytical report about the results of a survey of experts in the framework of expert scenario forecasting monitoring “Russia 2020”, carried out in July-October, 2015, by the Institute of Sociology of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS) and the ZIRCON Research group. The methodology of the study is based on the technology of expert scenario forecasting monitoring developed in the early 1990s by the experts from the Institute of Sociology and the ZIRCON Research group. This technology repeatedly demonstrated its great efficiency in predicting the development of the country under the conditions of high uncertainty. I.Zadorin, D.Maltsev and V.Petukhov participated in preparing the report. E.Khalkina took part in organizing and conducting the expert survey.
¹ 1, 2011
CIVIL PARTICIPATION IN RUSSIA: CARTOGRAPHY OF PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS
The article is devoted to the analysis of the “third sector” in the modern Russia and possible trajectories of its development in the mid-term. According to the authors’ conception, all the problems (or most of them) with the civil participation can be explained through the specificity of interaction of its main subjects i.e. civil activists and social organizations with different stakeholders – population (ordinary citizens), power and business. Having thoroughly reviewed the range of contradictions emerging during the interaction of various “social sectors”, the authors draw the conclusion that a lot of problems of the Russian civil society have their roots in its very structures, in their ability/inability to build relationships with other socio-political actors. The research paper is based on the material of the project Power and Society in Russia: Problems of Overcoming Mutual Alienation carried out by the group ZIRCON, January-March, 2010.
¹ 4, 2009
CIVIL SOCIETY IN RUSSIA IN THE NEAREST FUTURE: THE RESULTS OF THE EXPERT RESEARCH STUDY
The article summarizes the conclusions of the experimental project “The short-term scenario forecast of civil society development in Russia” conducted from February till April, 2009 by the ZIRCON Research Group together with the Economic Strategy Institute. The research study carried out within the paradigm of the exploratory forecast on the basis of the expert survey method shed light on the high differentiation among the experts’ opinions on the Russian civil society state and its prospects. There were neither conforming nor even prevailing opinions on hardly any parameters characterizing the development of civil society. Evaluating such ambiguity and controversy of the “expert consciousness” as being reflective of the subject in question itself, the authors come to conclusion that today the Russian civil society is at a bifurcation point, after which its development with the same degree of probability might take several paths that are fundamentally different.
¹ 4, 2008
ARE WE INTERESTING TO EACH OTHER?
The article presents the results of the research “Humanitarian interests of the population of the Commonwealth of Independent States as the basis of integration: what brings us together and makes interesting to each other?” carried out in 2008 by the “Eurasia Monitor” international research agency with the assistance of the Interstate Foundation for Humanitarian Cooperation of the CIS states. On the basis of the detailed analysis of cognitive and practical interests of the citizens of the former Soviet republics towards their neighbours in the post-soviet space, that were revealed during the opinion polls, I.Zadorin strongly proves that mutual interest between the CIS citizens is quite low today and is often purely declarative. Such situation is seen by the author as even more alerting, since the study has discovered a correlation between the level of population’s knowledge of other cultures (frequency of visits to other countries, participation in their cultural or sporting events, etc.) and its readiness for unions and integration. The more respondents in a country say that they are acquainted with other cultures, the more inclined to integration these nations are.
¹ 3, 2008
INTEGRATION REFERENCE POINTS OF THE CIS POPULATION: DYNAMICS AND PROSPECTS
Based on the analysis of data received from public opinion polls conducted by the “Eurasian monitor” in 2005–2007, I.Zadorin comes to a conclusion that new integration perception points of the former USSR population are just being developed. The article proves convincingly that the choice of one or another vector of integration (or autonomous development without joining alliances and unions) is to a great extent influenced by the current economic situation in a state (its deterioration results in a much greater disposition for integration), as well as economic successes and/or failures of major centers of gravitation – Russia and the European Union. According to the author, the process of sovereignization at the post-soviet space has not yet exhausted itself, and juxtaposing it with the process of integration means that the latter will be threatened with discredit and deception. New integration that is not based on a common past should be thoroughly prepared and argued for, because its expediency is no longer evident to the population and requires explanations and proves.
¹ 3, 2006
The way Russians perceive social risks and threats: status and 10-year dynamics.
The data from an all-Russian survey held in April-May 2006 served an empirical basis for the article. The authors also used the materials from 1996-1999 surveys, which let him measure the dynamics of Russians` mass consciousness during the latest decade. Among the parameters of the analysis were a level of confidence in the future and assessment of the level of danger posed by particular social threats (from unemployment and criminalization of society to inter-ethnic conflicts and natural calamities). Apart from that, the authors studied the impact of demographic parameters (such as gender, age, education) on the perception of social dangers.
DOI: 10.30570/2078-5089-2006-42-3-29-38
Pages: 29-38
¹ 2, 2005
The publication is based upon empirical data of a large-scale survey among all layers of the Russian population. The survey’s objective was to find out how Russian citizens perceive today’s power in terms of whether it possesses certain characteristics and qualities. In this connection both public demand for certain qualities of power and people’s perception of an ideal power were stated. Another object of researchers’ attention was the population’s vision of real possibilities and probability of improving the qualities of power, as well as Russian citizens’ perceptions of general principles of power formation and of how to do so that power in Russia gained more quality.
DOI: 10.30570/2078-5089-2005-37-2-96-114
Pages: 96-114
¹ 4, 1999
MASS PROTEST IN RUSSIA IN THE SECOND HALF OF 1990S: THE IMPACT OF ECONOMIC FACTORS
The article is devoted to the research of the economic constituent of mass protest. Analyzing on macro level the interconnection of the protesting behavior of people, moods, expectations, willingness to participate in actions of protest with the level of economic trouble, the authors make the conclusion that public actions of protest (mass meetings, manifestations, pickets, etc.) and strikes on the enterprises are of different nature and are determined by different factors. The participants' number of public actions doesn't correlate with any of the economic variables. At the same time a certain exponential dependence of the number of strikes participants on the increase of the wages indebtedness is followed. The degree of the protesting potential defined by the sociological polls also demonstrates the strong connection with the economic variables.
DOI: 10.30570/2078-5089-1999-14-4-64-78
Pages: 64-78
¹ 4, 1998
Public Opinion on Local Self-Government
According to public opinion polls, Russians draw a clear-cut distinction between (a) ‘basic” self-government structures, which are not looked upon as authority really having a say in local matters, and (b) local self-government bodies of the city and district (raion) levels, in with the population’s trust is relatively high. Though betraying no noticeable signs of readiness to be self-organized for the sake of setting their local affairs going, a considerable part of our compatriots do not look upon the city and district (raion) authorities as self-government institutions either, and do not differentiate between state government and self-government.
DOI: 10.30570/2078-5089-1998-10-4-42-50
Pages: 42-50
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Zadorin Igor
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