Latova N.V. Socio-psychological state of russian society and social attitudes of different groups of russians. Journal of Institutional Studies. 2023. Vol. 15. No. 4. P. 62–78.

Текст статьи на сайте журнала URL: https://hjournal.ru/files/JIS_15_4/JIS_15.4_5.pdf (дата обращения 28.12.2023)

Abstract

The article analyses the socio-psychological state of the Russian society from the point of view of mainly subjective indicators, which can be considered as characteristics of the national psychological capital. The main subject of the study is social moods (emotional states) of the country's citizens, which are formed by the life situation of Russians in general. The analysis of the data of the all-Russian survey conducted in June 2023 by the Institute of Sociology of FNISC RAS leads to the conclusion that after the extremely negative changes at the beginning of the last year (immediately after the beginning of the SWO) the emotional state of Russians began to improve. Nevertheless, at the time of the analysed poll, the ratio of positively and negatively disposed citizens remained one of the worst for the entire period since 2014. The bulk of Russians (almost half of the country's residents) are in an anxious state. At the same time, the society is characterised by too small a share (only 3% - the lowest in the past ten years of observations) of those who experience emotional uplift. At the same time, the share of Russians with extremely negative feelings of well-being has fallen within the norm usual for Russian society in the last decade. In 2023, we observe an overlap of factors traditional for post-Soviet Russia that form negative social moods with situational factors related to the SWO in Ukraine. Thus, the most negative social moods (irritation, bitterness and aggression) are primarily formed among Russians with poor self-assessments of their financial situation, expectation of its deterioration in the near future, serious problems related to work, and, finally, a change in attitude towards the course pursued by the country's leadership. In its turn, anxiety is especially promoted by changes related to social ties in the close circle of communication: departure of relatives and friends abroad, deterioration of relations due to disagreements in the attitude towards the SWO. Increased anxiety is also observed among those who have faced the threat of mobilisation, whose relatives and friends have been killed or injured during participation in special operation, who have felt an increase in current expenses, as well as reduced opportunities for foreign travel. It should be stated that Russians have experienced the emergence of new frustrations, rather than the deepening of previously existing frustrations. If we consider the sociopsychological state of Russian society as an important resource for its development, then we can conclude that in 2023 the satisfactory state of national material resources (economists predict GDP growth of 2-3% by the end of the year) is combined with a very alarming state of intangible resources (primarily, the national psychological capital), which does not allow us to talk about the socio-economic well-being of Russians.