Slobodenyuk E. Social risks and the low lass in Russia. The Russian public opinion herald. Data. Analysis. Discussions. 2019. No. 1–2 (128). P. 43–54.

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Abstract

This article examines whether a lower class, understood in the Neo-Weberian sense, exists in contemporary Russian society. The analysis is based on a stratification framework that operationalises Max Weber’s concept of *life chances*. Social stratification is measured using a composite index incorporating indicators of life chances and risks across four domains: economic living conditions, employment, opportunities for maintaining and developing human capital, and patterns of consumption and leisure. Drawing on data from the 26th wave of the Russia Longitudinal Monitoring Survey – Higher School of Economics (RLMS–HSE, 2017), the study critically examines the lowest stratum identified by this life chances and risks index to assess the extent to which it can be regarded as a lower class. Particular attention is devoted to three issues: (1) the occupational positions of its employed members; (2) the quality of the human capital they bring to the labour market; and (3) the characteristics of their employment contracts, with particular emphasis on social protections and violations of labour rights. The article also considers the extent to which poverty serves as a marker of lower-class membership in Russia. The findings suggest that the lowest stratum identified through the proposed methodology does, in fact, constitute the lower class of contemporary Russian society. At the same time, membership in this class is by no means always associated with poverty. Thus, low living standards and class position represent two distinct dimensions of social disadvantage in contemporary Russia.