Actuality March 25, 2008

   Russians have adapted themselves on the whole to the new economic relations for the 15-year reforms period as considers the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS) corresponding member, RAS Sociology Institute director Mikhail Gorshkov. He spoke at the press-conference devoted to the 50th anniversary of sociology revival in Russia.

According to the scientist "90% of population considers that proprietary right should be sacred".

   The sociologist stated the peculiarity of democracy understanding in Russia unlike the western understanding. "Under the democracy concept we understand not social and political, but social and economic subject matter", said Gorshkov and explained that "everything that envisages the increase of living standard of people, provides principles of social justice and order is democratic for the Russians, besides the western criteria (equality before the law, providing of the objective legal proceeding etc.)".

   Moreover, according to the studies of the sociologists, the Russian society is far from the desired social structure at which the middle class would amount 60-70% of population. According to Mikhail Gorshkov data, 21% of the Russians are below the poverty line, and 17% balance on this edge. The one fourth of the population is qualified as poor, and the middle class amounts only the one third. 5% of the Russians are rich.

   Gorshkov marked that "the middle class grows only around 0,8% a year". "We do not see the change signs of the social structure in the nearest 10 years. And we should work with this structure", he said. Mikhail Gorshkov also paid attention to "the hierarchy of the Russian young people value system that remains the same as well as decades ago. Although they do not admit this and do not tell their peers".

The RAS academician, the RAS Institute of Social and Political Studies director Gennady Osipov stated that "only three public institutes have the 50-percent rating: the president, the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Orthodox Church".