No 11 (2024)

This material is a discussion on key issues in the development of theoretical sociology both in Russia and worldwide today. The XXVI Kharchev’ Readings were held on November 23, 2024, within the framework of the conference “Sociology: Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow”, dedicated to the 50th anniversary of the “Sociological Studies” journal. The purpose of the Readings was to discuss the changing landscape of modern theoretical sociology and the factors behind these changes, including the influence of digitalization. The theme of the Readings was based on the specifics of constructing sociological theories in current conditions, but with reference to the history and revision of theoretical knowledge, in particular, the revision of the works of domestic theoretical sociologists and the issues of importing and adapting Western concepts. Particular attention was paid to the categorization and conceptual apparatus of sociology. We present to the readers’ attention the main provisions of the participants’ reports at the conference. Weaknesses in the development of theoretical sociology in the country were noted, including: separation from the empirical base and appropriating works on social philosophy; copying the concepts of foreign researchers without adaptation to Russian realities; lack of connection with the ideas of predecessors in Russia and the past development of society and its individual aspects; proclamation of an interdisciplinary approach without serious methodological development, etc. The question was raised about the productivity of conceptual transfer and Western methodology without taking into account Russian realities. The deficit of general sociological theories for describing the modern world both in Russia and abroad was discussed.

Group identities serve as a basis for the consolidation of society or its fragmentation. The grounds for the division between “us” and “them” include generational, national, ideological and other identities, which, according to the data of the IS FCTAS RAS, are quite common. At the same time, identity with the citizens of Russia, which contributes to the consolidation of Russian society, is now clearly expressed by less than 30% of representatives of mass strata. Members of this group are characterized by a commitment to putting the interests of the state first, support for the special military operation, an attitude to the need to sacrifice personal well-being for the sake of higher goals, etc. The identification block of Russians’ attitudes includes several types of identities. These are: self-identifications based on objective characteristics (age, place of residence, etc.); identities related to the specifics of an individual’s self-perception through the prism of achieving success in life; identities reflecting worldview affinity; identities with certain primary groups and identities with groups that differ in their attitude to the special military operation. All of them have different prevalence and specific localization. The system of Russians’ identities over the last quarter of a century has been characterized by a high degree of stability, although it has undergone changes, including a general decrease in the prevalence of symbolic identities due to decreasing popularity of identities with people of the same economic status, profession and nationality against the background of an increase in the share of those feeling a clearly expressed affinity with the inhabitants of their town or village. The dynamics of Russians’ identity system also show that negative identities are more strongly influenced by a person’s emotional state, while clearly expressed positive identities are more strongly influenced by his/her attitudes.

The article is devoted to the analyses of persistent poverty in comparison with transitory one. A huge number of studies is already done in this area, however, applying primarily quantitative methodology. The objective of our study is to explore the persistent poverty using qualitative methods. As the literature review demonstrates that families with children are one of the main categories at risk of chronic poverty, the study is focused on this category. Using the data of focus-group discussions (FGDs) conducted in summer 2023 with both persistent poor and those with transitory poverty experiences, we argue that chronically poor do not describe themselves as poor. Moreover, they underestimate duration of living below the poverty line and the risks of their position arguing that they are able to improve it (primarily in terms of income). During the FGDs the study participants discussed the cases of the other poor and their capability to quit poverty as well as their own capabilities. Persistently poor population is able to formulate various strategies to overcome poverty for others (like activities in labor market, applying for social benefits etc.), however, they are not ready to use the same steps for themselves. They appeal to their negative experience at the labor market, necessity to spend much time with children and being not ready to radically change their habits.

According to representative all-Russian surveys of the Institute of Sociology of the Federal Scientific Research Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences in the 2000–2020s two problems are explored: whether over the last “crisis” decade there has been an increase in institutional trust as social capital, or its reduction, and also to what extent institutional trust is really a resource in Russia today that brings additional benefits. With regard to trust in state institutions, the impulse to “unite around the flag” associated with the beginning of the Special Military Operation continued to operate in 2024, although with weakening force; it overlapped with the rise of institutional trust indicators that began in 2021, interrupting their decline in 2016–2020. The hierarchy of objects of trust was constantly headed by the President and the Russian army, which in recent years were trusted by almost 4/5 of Russians. At the same time, Russians more often did not trust political institutions not related to the “vertical of power,” although the general trend of the 2020s featured increasing confidence to them. Trust in political institutions clearly shows a “comeback”: Russians with higher institutional trust (in particular, in the President) more often took social actions that contributed to the stability of the situation in the country (in particular, they more often participated in the 2024 presidential elections), more often with they perceived the country’s development path with optimism and were less likely to experience negative social feelings (for example, that “we can’t live like this any longer”).

The article analyzes the father-son relationships of young men in multi-child Russian families, the nature and mechanisms of its influence on the development of fatherhood involvement, the significance of involved fatherhood as a factor for potential multi-child parenting. We identified and researched the differences between the young men groups experiencing communicative, rejecting and compensating relationships with their fathers. We found out that among the communicative type their own fathers act as examples of masculine behavior, thereby helping the young man to become a father, to realize self-actualization in fatherhood, and to identify himself as a man of family. We developed the following metrics of father’s experience in these families: affective, moral and ethical, axiological, instrumental, including training and development, gender-related (distribution of family duties and contribution to family provision), communicative, father’s availability degree, contribution to the development of male character. We found out that among the rejecting, the experience of disharmonious relationships and a lack of interaction with the father lead to difficulties in acquiring one’s own paternity. The compensating type strives to fill the deficits of fatherhood, to be more involved and available to their children. We identified the ways of influence on fatherhood involvement development in young men such as identification with the father, transfer and continuity, reflection, awareness, rejection of negative practices of fatherhood, processing of negative experiences, rejection of paternal identity and identification with the “new” father, compensation for paternity deficits. We conclud that involved fatherhood is an important factor in multi-child parenting in young families. The development of involved fatherhood is accompanied by experiencing of a man’s personal agency of father’s role, promotes awareness of the high importance of family and children, introduces him to the ideology of procreation, continuity of life, and promotes the desire to have many children. We identified two major ways of developing involved fatherhood: through continuity and transfer or reflection and revaluation of the experience of relationships with one’s fathers, as well as interaction with other people, the transfer of positive experiences in family, kinship or friendship relationships, online communities and training programs for fathers.

In 2024, Gulsina (Galina) Galeevna Tatarova will celebrate her anniversary. One of the significant areas of her work is related to education – training of future sociologists. All in all, she speut about 30 years to teaching and was among those who shaped Russian sociological education, defining its key areas and standards. Her name is associated with the area that may by described as “teaching mathematics humanities students”, without which it is now difficult to imagine the process of training sociologists. Her experience includes working at various universities, but there is a faculty where she has been working since its foundation – this is the sociology faculty of the State University of Humanities (then – State Academic University of Humanities) opened by V. A. Yadov in 1994. For the 30th anniversary of the faculty, we discussed with G. G. Tatarova a variety of topics, but focused more on the education of sociologists and the specifics of teaching methodology. The interview presents reflections on teaching mathematics and methods of sociological research to sociologists, the creation of unique measurement courses that combined mathematics and sociology, problems of teaching and sociological education in general. The methodological culture and awareness of the researcher at different stages of research activity are discussed. Galina Galeevna generously shares her teaching developments and techniques, and also poses important theoretical and methodological questions.

In a conversation with F. E. Sheregi – one of the leading Russian sociologists, little-known plots of the institutionalization of Soviet sociology are revealed. Some details are given about the admission of the first graduate students of the ICSI of the USSR Academy of Sciences in sociology, about the free and democratic environment at ICSI, which distinguished it from most academic institutions. A portrait of the first editor-in-chief A. G. Kharchev is given. The experience of understanding research at Komsomol construction sites, including BAM, is described. The exceptional role and importance of such applied research is shown, in particular, in predicting the collapse of the USSR. The contribution of a number of academic sociologists such as B. A. Grushin, V. A. Yadov, A. G. Zdravomyslov, V. E. Shlyapentokh, A. G. Kharchev and others is assessed. The features and importance of entrepreneurship and marketing in sociology are considered.

The article is devoted to the socio-economic survey conducted by American sociologist and journalist William Walling in Russia in 1905–1907. Walling studied the available literature on peasant life, visited more than fifty villages, interviewed several hundred peasant respondents, and then critically discussed their answers with local teachers, doctors, and statisticians. In essence, this was the first survey of the Russian peasants life using modern sociological methods. In addition, analyzing the political processes in Russia, the American journalist interviewed dozens of prominent politicians, including S. Yu. Witte and V. I. Lenin. William Walling’s work in many respects was ahead of the social history in the 20th century. Numerous observations allowed Walling to conclude that the short stature of Russian peasants was connected with insufficient consumption. The American sociologist concluded that one of the reasons for insufficient consumption was agrarian overpopulation, which arose as a result of the fact that the population growth rate exceeded the growth of agricultural production. Another reason was the preservation of large landed estates; grain produced on landed estates was exported from Russia in huge quantities. As a result, Walling concluded that the peasants’ struggle for the division of landed estates was the main driving force of the Russian Revolution – a revolution that was essentially a peasant war. Many of Walling’s conclusions were confirmed by specialists only a hundred years later.

This article describes the debate that has developed in sociological scholarship over the «Grievance Studies Affair». Three authors provoked a number of Cultural Studies journals to accept for publication articles that were deliberately weak in methodological and empirical terms. The authors wanted to prove that contemporary postmodern research is often too politicised and deviates from the canons of scientific knowledge. The hoax succeeded and once again aggravated the question of what is social knowledge: a rigorous methodological construct based on verified and confirmed facts or is it an objectification of the opinions of resource groups? Familiarity with the materials of the polemics allows us to recall the danger of the intrusion of ideological beliefs, values and interests into social science. This leads to distortion, bias and politicisation of knowledge and undermines its authority. The totality of manipulation techniques of public consciousness with the help of scientific knowledge is defined in the article as «deepfake method».

Based on the author’s empirical research, the article analyzes the emotional state as a key factor in the social well-being and behavior of young people, determining the level of their social integration and the dynamics in the formation of a new Russian identity. The subjective reasons for the positive/negative emotional state of young people in new Russian regions are shown based on the analysis of an open question. The article substantiates the conclusion that the most significant events determining the social well-being of young people are the continuation of a special military operation, as well as the fact that the territories of young people residence are now Russian.