Sushko P.E. Russians’ Ideas About Russia’s Possible Development Paths: Prevalence and Specificity. Social Sciences. 2023. Vol. 54. No. 1. Pp. 4-17.

Abstract

This article analyzes the worldview of Russians regarding the priority development vector of Russian society against the backdrop of the Special Military Operation (SMO) in Ukraine. A nationwide represen- tative study carried out by the Institute of Sociology of the Federal Center of Theoretical and Applied Sociology of the Russian Academy of Sciences (FCTAS RAS) in March 2022 (N = 2000) revealed two qualitatively different positions. The majority (54%) is convinced that Russia’s development vec- tor should be unique and distinctive from the Western model. The minority (19%) wants closer relations with the Western countries and, accordingly, to look to their example. Not only do these two groups differ with respect to their social and demographic features and values profile, but they also hold different assessments of the decision to launch the SMO in Ukraine and can- not agree in their assessments of its key actors. They are not, however, 100% antipodes: they agree that responsibility for the conflict in Ukraine should be distributed among different countries; they are not ready to accept restrictions that might significantly worsen their social and economic status; and they are not ready to transform their displeasure into public protest. The final civiliza- tional choice belongs to the “significant Other” pattern.

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