Vol 23, No 4 (2023)

The article analyzes the environmental consciousness of the region's population as a special property of reflecting the social nature of a person, expressed through personal concern about the state of the environment, through the acquisition of environmental information and practical activities to preserve and restore the natural environment. Particular attention in the article is given to theoretical approaches to the consideration of the phenomenon of ecological consciousness. Human consciousness as a "specifi c property of organized complexity" is considered in the works of Teilhard de Chardin, V. I. Vernadsky, I. R. Prigogine. In the philosophical direction (R. S. Karpinskaya, I. K. Liseev, N. N. Moiseev), a co-evolutionary approach is used, which refl ects the unity of human, society and the nature that undergoes changes. The study of environmental consciousness with the help of a rational sociological approach involves the use of statistical methods for researching a particular region. Understanding the ecological consciousness as the three-element system "man – society – nature" enables us to compose a model of ecological consciousness in the form of three components: world perception, information, activity. In the course of the author's sociological study, it was found that a signifi cant number of the of the Saratov region residents (88%) are personally concerned about environmental problems. At the same time, the population is informed both about global environmental problems and about the environmental situation in the region. However, residents of the region towns do not consider themselves suffi ciently informed about the environmental problems of their place of residence. Most of the respondents (71%) take an active part in the implementation of environmental activities, for example, 67.5% participated in community work days to clean up the territory; 22.8% – participated in tree planting campaigns; 49.1% try not to use plastic bags and bottles, if possible, etc. The conclusion made is that the environmental consciousness of the population in the Saratov region fully corresponds to the compiled model, due to the fact that the population feels personal responsibility for the state of the environment, is aware of the environmental principles that enable conscious environmental activities of the nature protection to be performed.

The article presents the results of an empirical sociological study conducted in 2022 in Saratov using the questionnaire method and dedicated to poverty. The volume of the quota-territorial sample amounted to 626 respondents. It was revealed that the middle generation was more likely to talk about absolute poverty, the younger – about relative poverty. Today, the majority of Saratov residents link poverty with an income of 8–12,000 rubles. Every fourth of them felt poverty at the beginning of their independent life path and the same number, mainly of the middle generation, at the time of the survey are in a situation of poverty. They feel more deprived in all areas of everyday life, especially on vacation. The dynamics of the assessment of the material situation indicates a relatively successful stable improvement in the situation of young people, and somewhat less favorable multidirectional vectors of change in the middle generation. Among young people, they more often talked about the risk of losing their jobs, low wages, and losing their breadwinner. Among the middle generation, the fear of illness and over-indebtedness are more common. For residents of the city of Saratov, the main objective factors of poverty were low wages (68.5%), unemployment (50.5%), insuffi cient state support (44.0%). Along with this, the subject characteristics that contribute to poverty are highlighted: laziness, alcoholism, low educational level, drug addiction, loss of health, over-indebtedness and loss of breadwinner. In other words, Saratov residents are more inclined to blame the state and its policies for poverty, not forgetting about the subjective characteristics of individuals. Young people are more optimistic than the average generation about overcoming poverty. 6.7% of Saratov residents leave the town for other areas to earn money, mainly young people (6.9%). 20.0% of the population, mostly the middle generation, still plan to do it. Most often, people leave for work to capital cities, less often - in other regions. The majority of the Saratov population, especially the middle generation, rather negatively evaluate the eff ectiveness of the strategy to overcome poverty in the region.

The article considers the basic features of the transformation process of the political elite in relation to the region of a transitive, agrarianindustrial type, like Saratov region. The differences between the transformation process and the change of the elite and the so-called "change of elites" are revealed. The characteristics of the structural-institutional, group and generational aspects of the dynamics of elites in the region are given. It is noted that the process of elite transformation aff ects, fi rst of all, such group indicators as socio-demographic parameters, social origin, educational characteristics of the elite, its length of service and experience in management activities. The analysis of the biographies of 67 politicians representing the elite of the transitive-type region allowed to conclude that the leading feature of the transformation of the composition of the political elite of the Saratov region is not a change in its external parameters, but the preservation of deep internal (structural-functional) characteristics. As a result, the parameters of the consolidation elite are approved, which is intended to largely consolidate the tendency to stabilize public-political life for a longer period.

The article presents the stages of transformation of the concept “linguistic personality” in correlation with the changes of social reality. The reasons for the appearance of the concept “communicative personality” in connection with the formation of the social reality of the information society are substantiated. Comparative analysis of these concepts, involving linguistic, socio-cultural and socio-psychological factors is presented. The “linguistic turn” in socio-humanitarian research contributed to a new content of linguistic personality as a discursive concept. The sociological approaches of M. Weber and P. Bourdieu are given as the theoretical grounds of the connection between the social status of a linguistic personality and its belonging to a certain speech community. The example of the sociolinguistic discourse proves the infl uence of the level of education, linguistic in particular, on the access of the linguistic/communicative/discursive personality to the social lift (professional career development). Thus, the linguistic personality as a subject of social reality construction creates and maintains social communication, contributes to the enlargement of knowledge, intergenerational connections and, ultimately, to the improvement of the quality of life.

The article discusses the features of implementing women's sports career in the context of the coronavirus epidemic. Ways to maintain a career in isolation and options for its development, as well as government initiatives during this period, are analyzed. This includes a comparison of budget expenditures from the start of physical education funding to the post-pandemic period. In addition, types of careers are considered, including the ones typical to the current situation particular, the transformative type of career with a gradual upward movement and subsequent change of activity. This type of career is characterized by a high rate of job advancement (expansion of influence), which can be either gradual or abrupt. The predisposition of women to end their sports career is considered. The author's analysis is based on a sociological study conducted in 2021 in a specially designed questionnaire in Telegram using the survey method, as well as an in-depth interview with a master of sports in ballroom dancing and her career path, which combined several sports, as well as coaching. The current changes in sports practices, including the example of innovations with the help of social networks, which infl uenced the popularity of a healthy lifestyle are analyzed. The problems of youth sports school students and professional athletes due to the lack of equipment and the complexity of professional training at home are considered. In conclusion, the article examines the consequences not only of the pandemic, but also the ban on the participation of Russian athletes in international competitions, as well as the Olympic Games, and its possible consequences, which will negatively aff ect the wages of our athletes. In addition to that, there is a number of serious socio-economic problems, including the lack of fi nancial resources for the construction of sports facilities in the regions.

The article examines the main trends in understanding political identifi cation of the main groups of Russian youth in the last year and a half. Based on the analysis of the latest scholarly literature on this issue, it has been revealed that the attention of researchers continues to be attracted by the development of a methodology for analyzing various structures of youth identity, the justifi cation of new types of their typology, the possibilities of combining various identifi cation matrices for a more accurate correlation of the ideological, worldview and activity positioning of representatives of the younger generation. In scientifi c discourse, the position of supporters of a liberal interpretation of civic identity based on the justifi cation of the priority of civil rights and individual freedoms has signifi cantly weakened. The position whose supporters actually equate civic identity and national identity acquires dominant signifi cance. This is due, fi rst of all, to the offi cial goal of introducing into the mass consciousness of young people an understanding of the social signifi cance of the state and its functionality and the need to stimulate the corresponding active civic position of each individual in protecting the interests of the state and society as a whole. It is concluded that most researchers do not touch upon the specifi cs of identifying various groups of Russian youth in relation to the special military operation in Ukraine. On the one hand, this is understandable, given the complexity of the situation and the ambiguous possible consequences regarding any critical assessments on the part of researchers. On the other hand, there is a need for an objective understanding of new lines of demarcation, which, in terms of their motivational signifi cance, are often ranked at a higher level than the traditional party-ideological and worldview preferences of Russian youth. Understanding these identifi cation markers is the most important scientifi c task in theoretical and practical senses.

The article considers the features of the functioning of early models of the Russian foreign policy mechanism. With this in mind, in the process of research, institutional, historical-genetic and activity methods have been applied. On the basis of a retrospective analysis, the traditional features of domestic systems for making and implementing foreign policy decisions that functioned within the framework of the Ancient Russian State, the Moscow State and the Russian Empire have been characterized. Five main models of the mechanism for the formation and implementation of foreign policy,which were characterized by varying degrees of subjectivity of representative institutions, have been identifi ed: the system of making foreign policy decisions in the Ancient Russian principalities in the X–XIV centuries (a high degree of subjectivity of the veche, taking into account the infl uence of the activation of external threats and internal instability); 2) the mechanism for the formation and implementation of the foreign policy of the Moscow State in the XVI–XVII centuries (increase in the subjectivity of the Boyar Duma and the Zemsky Sobor in the context of exacerbation of external threats and internal crisis manifestations); 3) foreign policy mechanism of the Russian Empire in the XVIII – early XX centuries (low subjectivity of the Senate, the Legislative Commissions, the State Council in the circumstances of constant external threats, the strengthening of central power and relative domestic political stabilization); 4) the mechanism of foreign policy activity of the Russian Empire in 1906–1917 (a higher level of subjectivity of the State Duma against the background of the crisis of the international system, the aggravation of external threats and internal economic and political problems); 5) a conventionally distinguished foreign policy mechanism that functioned in the period after the February Revolution of 1917 until the formation of the USSR (deviant model: contradictions between the Petrograd Soviet and the Provisional Government on foreign policy issues against the background of the transformation of the system of international relations, the activation of external threats and internal shocks). It has been established that these models (except for the last one, which seems to be a special case) have in common the presence within the state bureaucracy of the dominant role of the «fi rst person», which, at diff erent historical stages, could have the powers of a commander and sovereign, exerting the greatest infl uence on the process of foreign policy formation. At the same time, the supreme leader, as a rule, relied on a narrow circle of trusted persons in the implementation of their functions in the foreign policy sphere. Traditionally, «power departments» (military, naval, foreign aff airs) were personally subordinated to the head of state. It is concluded that the subjectivity of representative institutions within the framework of the state foreign policy mechanism increased in the face of increased external threats and internal crises and, accordingly, decreased against the background of general stabilization and strengthening of the central government.

Like any other region of the world Latin America is a subject to threats that negatively affect the standard of living of people. The author identifi es and analyzes the main economic, social, political, and environmental threats of the region, referring to the documents of international organizations such as the UN, the World Bank, Human Rights Watch and experts studying the problems. The author notes that the immediate economic threat to human security arises from a drop in production, loss of income and rising unemployment, which leads to a signifi cant increase in poverty and a decrease in citizens’ confi dence in the future. Against the backdrop of global crises, the World Bank forecasts a modest increase in the GDP of countries in the coming years. The author identifi es three social groups that are most vulnerable to threats to human security: migrants, indigenous people, women, and children. A common problem for the region is the high percentage of cases of violence that also come from the authorities. The main threat to the political security of citizens is the weakness of democracies, since this political system in the region has existed for about forty years and is not yet as developed as in other regions of the world. The high level of corruption among offi cials aggravates the situation in the country, which often leads to rallies and strikes throughout the region. Among the transnational threats to human security, the author notes terrorism and organized crime, including money laundering and drug traffi cking, as well as traffi cking in short-barreled weapons. These threats pose a direct danger to people’s lives. Against the background of deforestation of tropical forests, the threat to environmental security is extremely acute. The danger is that deforestation leads to the deprivation of indigenous peoples of their habitat, which directly aff ects the human security of the region.

The article analyzes possibility of using video games for the patriotic education of youth. The experience of foreign and domestic game developers in filling them with political content is presented, which forms a certain attitude among users to politics, to its past and present, its values and subjects. The risks that may arise when using video games as a means of patriotic and civic education and that are important to consider when designing and implementing such educational technology are noted. In addition, the author suggests some variations of video games that are able to form patriotic feelings among the players.