Vol 14, No 4 (2024)

The article analyzes the results of long-term sociological studies of the peculiarities of the transformation of Russian society associated with the growing public demand for change, the modality of which has not decreased for a long time. It is shown that this is due to increased social activism associated with “helping behavior”, mutual assistance and cooperation. This allowed us to understand that the administrative and bureaucratic class has built convenient “capsules” for itself, blocking the development of a natural, from the point of view of common sense, business and civic initiative of society, allowing its members to participate in making socially significant decisions. The society is set up to improve the institutional infrastructure of social development, first of all, to reduce the degree of corruption, alienation of the population from power, unblocking channels for promoting and realizing public interests. In addition, the problem of people’s dissatisfaction with the growing polarization of social incomes is being raised, which reduces the quality of social policy in terms of improving demographic indicators, increasing social upward mobility based on meritocratic principles, and improving the structure of social and labor motivation. This exacerbates the sense of social justice, which, when blocked, can lead to negative social consequences, forming “combustible material” and, accordingly, the risks of unconventional social actions associated with social explosions and revolutionary consequences of expressing discontent. It is shown that at the moment the majority of the population is set up in a reformist way, since they are only getting rid of the neurotic syndrome after the coronavirus pandemic and the onset of SMO. A certain energy impulse for change is also set by consolidated public opinion associated with the “rewiring” of Russian society along the line of differentiation from Western universalist approaches, the search for its own civilizational and cultural code of development, the revival of neotraditionalist narratives of the formation of a value-symbolic framework of public consciousness.

Presented study of the political and legal aspects of the institutional environment of present-day Russia seeks to identify the resources and inhibitors of civic spirit. The latter is defined as the integrative quality of society and individuals, which serves as the necessary condition and means for achieving civil identity, consolidation of society, legitimation of the political order and strengthening national security. On the basis of data from a series of the original all-Russian surveys (2019–2022) a major factor that affects the foundations of civic spirit is identified. That is lack of confidence of the majority of respondents in protection under the law when interacting with the authorities. Correlation between self – confidence in political subjectivity and person’s predisposition toward institutional and interpersonal trust, loyalty to the socio-political order, civic and political activity is carried out. The prospects for strengthening the civic spirit are identified on the basis of the found discrepancies between the collective imaginary and social attitudes of respondents that are sure and unsure of their possession the political and legal status as a citizen. It is proved that erosion of the civic values diminishes the ability of the institutional environment to enforce social cohesion and societal integration. For this reason the study substantiates the need of transformative policy which setting goals and means relay on enhancing the role of political subjectivity and therefor contribution to the civic spirit development.

The purpose of the research. The article considers socio-cultural deviations as a factor of disintegration of Russian youth in the sphere of civil-political relations. It is noted, that in the conditions of transitional society the dysfunctionality of social institutions is accompanied by the emerging social restrictions for self-realization of young people. As a result, the processes of rethinking the attitude to the sphere of civil-political relations are intensifying in the youth environment. Sociocultural deviations in the changing reality are presented in the form of semantic deviations, which reflect the subject’s attitude to the sphere of civil-political relations, built on the principles of disintegration. Conclusions. In the course of the conducted sociological research and structural and taxonomic modelling in the sociocultural space of young people the deviation was found, which combines narrowly pragmatic and cynical principles of interaction of young people with the state and with surrounding people. At the core of this sociocultural deviation are the meanings that allow the practice of breaking the law and treating the state solely as a “trough”. On the peripheral layers of deviation are the meanings that allow the use of physical force against opponents, the use of corrupt schemes in interaction with the state and justify the prideful superiority over people who have not achieved success in life. The authors conclude that it is necessary to apply the system-activity approach in the process of regulating the life activities of young people in the sphere of civil-political relations.

The study draws conclusions from the analysis of the political risks of state power at the present stage of Russia’s development. The socio-political principles of management are analyzed, which are connected and interact with a group of organizational and technological mechanisms of political decision-making, which are integral elements of their common system of public administration. Organizational and technological mechanisms reflect the patterns of social management that are associated with the implementation of its organizational and technical functions and the minimization of political risks. They play an important role in creating the basis for the formation of managerial relations, determining essentially the distribution of power, the degree of centralization of the power of managers and the degree of real independence of the governed. Violation of these principles leads to political risks: unjustified fragmentation of the functions of management bodies, violation of the balance of rights and responsibilities of managers, increased demands on the managed and the unreasonableness of decisions. The peculiarities of personnel policy after the presidential elections of Russia are revealed. Proposals are made on mechanisms of social management based on the principles of social justice, as well as the use of existing potential based on the principles of decision-making and its justification in the context of political risks. The connection between the general picture of the world existing in culture and the way of attitude to the category of power in the public consciousness is substantiated.

The presented scientific work is devoted to the consideration of the place and role of ethnic minorities in ensuring ethnopolitical security in Russia. The authors note that at present, neither practitioners nor the scientific community have any doubts that modern society is facing challenges related to ethnic, cultural and religious differences, and all this together underlines the importance of studying the influence of ethnic minorities on the stability of the political and social system. In this paper, a brief analysis of the role of ethnic minorities in ensuring ethnopolitical security in Russia is carried out. For a deeper understanding of the role and place of ethnic minorities in ensuring ethnopolitical security in Russia, it is necessary, first of all, to identify key concepts, and, as far as possible, to review existing points of view on the topic. Even a brief analysis of the points of view of a number of scientists and practitioners gives reason to assert that ethnic minorities are socio-cultural groups that inhabit a certain territory and have common identities that distinguish them from the dominant ethnic group in a given region. Russia is a multinational state, home to many ethnic minorities, each of which has its own history, culture and traditions.

The purpose of this study is to determine the features of one of the most significant areas of Russian migration policy – external migration, in the context of the lifting of restrictions associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on the statistical information published by the executive authorities, it was possible to analyze data on external migration for 2022 and 2023, which allows us to affirmatively speak not only about the recovery in the volume of external migration characteristic of the period 2018–2019, but also about the existing trends in the increase in external migrations, primarily from Central Asian states. Such trends are due to the high level of migration attractiveness of modern Russia, which is characterized by the peculiarities of the migration regime implemented within the framework of existing international agreements with the Central Asian states of the post-Soviet space, concluded back in the 1990s, but also by certain provisions of the national migration legislation, which forms a special level of migration preferences for citizens of such states. At the same time, the migration system of the Russian Federation has several levels of implementation of migration policy, which allows, with the effective use of existing legal mechanisms at the regional level, to ensure the solution of the tasks of managing migration processes, in order to prevent a number of migration risks of mass external migration, namely replacement migration of the local population, the formation of places of compact residence of foreigners, the development of diasporas, the criminalization of immigrant communities, as well as the creation of tension in the labor market.

The article examines the key aspects of multilateral economic cooperation between the countries of the post-Soviet space. In addition to Eurasian economic integration within the framework of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), there are other forms of multilateral economic cooperation in the post-Soviet space, mainly, initiated and promoted by the European Union, China and Turkey. On the other hand, the EAEU also seeks to build foreign economic relations with third countries located outside the pro-Soviet space, for example, by creating free trade areas with them. The article analyzes the main characteristics, prospects, limitations and problems of these types of multilateral economic cooperation, and the main aspects of their interaction.

The transformation of the world order has led to a rather serious change in the issues of war and peace in the XXI century. The development of competition between states leads to the search for new tools for implementing policies and their goals on the world stage. Information wars are the use of information and related technologies to gain an advantage over the enemy and are becoming more widespread in the world every year, which undoubtedly indicates the relevance of the topic. In this regard, the author of the study set a goal to identify the main features of waging information wars in the XXI century. New threats and challenges, such as cyber warfare, global terrorism, hybrid conflicts, proxy wars, environmental conflicts and insurgent movements are closely interconnected with information wars. Questions of warfare have long gone beyond simple technological innovations and are rather a rethinking of the ways in which the actors involved interact. The leap in information technology leads to a modification of the means that information wars have. All this undoubtedly speaks to the importance of critically understanding the consequences of these new ways of conducting information wars, especially with regard to their ability to distort the global and political dynamics of the development of international relations.

The purpose of the article is to explore the perception of work values as a marker of identity by the millennial generation in the context of the global digitalization of society. The millennial generation, being a significant part of the country’s economically active population, demonstrates its understanding of decent work, expressed in work preferences and value orientations, which, in turn, serves to determine the identity of this age group. Digitalization has contributed to the development and diversification of the employment sector by offering alternative forms, which has greatly changed the understanding of decent work. Based on data from a sociological study of formalized interviews among representatives of the millennial generation (n = 300), the key components of work values and their influence on the professional activity of representatives of the generation being studied were identified. The desire of millennials for career growth and professional self-improvement as the main labor value has been established; we can talk about a balance between external and internal labor orientations. It was revealed that an integral part of decent work for them is the presence of an expanded social package, including voluntary health insurance (VHI), and flexible work schedules. Millennials demonstrate high adaptability to changing conditions of the labor market and openness to innovation in organizing the labor process, which is manifested in a preference for remote forms of employment, opportunities for retraining and development. In the future, it is possible to study the attitudes towards work of millennials and centennials from a comparative perspective. The results of the article are of interest to those specializing in the field of sociology of labor and sociology of youth. The sociological research data can be used in the practical organization of labor activities to optimize personnel management and create a corporate culture that meets the needs of the new generation of workers.

The purpose of the study. Research of aspects of more literate behavior of young people in financial activities. The article examines the current aspects of the impact on the formation of financially literate behavior of Russian youth under the conditions of sanctions pressure. It is noted that in these conditions, the role of a sociologist is increasing in the need to provide various government structures with real information on various problems of society, and primarily in the financial sphere. The authors emphasize that “sustainable improvement of the quality and standard of living of citizens requires improving financial literacy and the formation of a financial culture, ensuring the financial well-being of citizens, their conscious use of financial products and services, reasonable financial decision-making, investment and risk management”. The work emphasizes that today the level of financial literacy and financial culture among young people is not at the proper level. At the same time, the financial culture of young people shows positive growth, and there are significant prospects for its further improvement. The article proposes a number of measures to improve the financial culture of young people, create a favorable environment for the development of optimal financial behavior of young people. Findings. The paper concludes that in order to form a full-fledged financially literate behavior of young people, it is necessary to develop not only financial literacy and financial culture, but also to contribute to the formation of a genuine value world in the process of personal socialization.

The article examines the effectiveness of the state’s anti-inflationary policy in the food market and the opinion of citizens on priorities and problems in this area. The study showed that the measures taken have a certain level of effectiveness, but do not seem sufficient. In addition, citizens are not sufficiently aware of the measures taken by the anti-inflationary policy, and information and educational work in this direction is important. A significant proportion of respondents consider it important to check the reasons for price increases in specific cases.

The article examines the features of social technologies for the re-socialization of Russian officers who were discharged into the reserve in modern conditions. The results of the study showed that re-socialization programs have both strengths and weaknesses. The high level of psychological well-being among former officers indicates the effectiveness of psychological support, but social adaptation and professional reintegration require significant improvements. Representatives of government agencies and non-profit organizations generally positively assess the existing system, recognizing the need for improvement. Employers are satisfied with the qualifications and skills of former officers but point to the need to strengthen psychological support.

In this scientific work, the author briefly analyzes some current problems of philosophical rethinking of the relationship between artificial intelligence and the human mind. To do this, the author briefly examines the essence, features, and advantages of introducing AI into practice, and focuses on the disadvantages of using such a tool in its various forms. Next, the author presents his own recommendations for implementing an effective philosophical rethinking of the relationship between artificial intelligence and the human mind. In conclusion, the author writes about the importance of carrying out such actions now, since there is a significant amount of work ahead, the relevance of which is becoming more and more obvious every day. The object of this scientific research is the current problems of philosophical rethinking of the relationship between artificial intelligence and the human mind. The purpose of this scientific research is a comprehensive, consistent analysis of current problems of philosophical rethinking of the relationship between artificial intelligence and the human mind. Methods of this scientific research: dialectical, comparative analysis, statistical, mathematical, generalization, concretization, systematization, deduction, other methods of theoretical and practical levels of scientific knowledge. The scientific novelty of this scientific research lies in the preparation of a comprehensive study, the formation of the author’s conclusions regarding current problems of philosophical rethinking of the relationship between artificial intelligence and the human mind. This scientific article will be useful to theorists, practitioners, students and teaching staff, as well as a wide range of readers interested in the problems and prospects for the development of ICT and AI in modern Russian and world practice, a philosophical rethinking of the relationship between man and AI in general.

This article presents a semiological analysis of ideology on the basis of R. Barthes’ semiological theory. The subject of the study is ideology as a semiological system. R. Barthes begins to consider his semiological theory by distinguishing between primary or “natural” semiology and secondary or mythological semiology. Primary semiology represents “natural” language as a simple jumble of senses, concepts and signs. In its turn, mythology is a secondary semiology, which is superstructured over “natural” language. R. Barthes introduces the concept of ideology through the exposure of mythology. In this context, special attention is paid to the semiological system of mythology, on the basis of the analysis of which ideological semiology is derived. The peculiarity of R. Barthes’ consideration of semiology lies in the definition of the signified, the signifier and the sign in relation to the “natural” and mythological semiological systems. The methodology of this study is based on R. Barthes’ semiological theory. C.G. Jung’s psychoanalytical theory and A.F. Losev’s phenomenological theory are applied to the analysis of social mythology. In turn, the social theories of K. Marx, F. Engels, V.I. Lenin and L. Althusser are used to analyze ideology. The scientific novelty of the study lies in the construction of ideological semiology. The hypothesis of the study is that ideology is a semiological system of the third order, which is based on the decomposition of mythological semiology. For “natural” semiology, the signified is a sense, the signifier is a concept, and the sign includes the signified and the signifier in their unity. In mythological semiology, the signified is a form, the signifier is a concept, and the sign is a meaning. Ideological semiology is superimposed over mythological semiology just as mythological semiology is superimposed over “natural” semiology. The main conclusion of this study is that ideology overcomes and unmasks mythology and returns concrete-historical reality in contrast to mythology, which passes off the real for the eternal and metaphysical. As a consequence of the destruction of mythological semiology, a new ideological semiology is formed. The authors’ special contribution is the substantiation and derivation of the semiological system of ideology, in which the signifier is a symbol, the signified is an interest of a social group, and the sign is reality.

In the article, the authors consider the problem of determining the legal nature of electric energy and capacity as objects of contracts in the wholesale electricity and capacity market of the Russian Federation. The lack of a uniform approach to the definition of electric energy and power as objects of property or obligation law is the cause of great disagreement both in theory and in practice. The authors analyze the existing doctrinal concepts and the established judicial practice of qualifying electric energy and power as objects of rights under civil and special legislation in the field of electric power industry. The authors come to the conclusion that the definition of the legal nature of electrical energy as a thing is applicable exclusively to the group of contracts for the purchase and sale (supply) of electrical energy and power, as a result of the provision of services – to contracts for the provision of services for the transmission of electrical energy and technological connection. Recognition of capacity as an independent object of the contract is applicable for a separate and named contract for the supply of capacity.