People’s perceptions of the main contradictions in Russian society

Understanding the “pain points” of society and the most acute contradictions for it is relevant when analyzing any society, and especially such a complex society as the Russian one. However, the analysis of these contradictions can be carried out both in terms of their objective significance, and through the prism of the subjective perception of their population, which is especially important in the analysis of social tension. This article, which aims to understand which contradictions in Russian society are perceived by the population of the country as the most acute ones, has been prepared within the framework of the latter approach. The views of foreign and Russian researchers on the main contradictions in modern societies in general and in Russian society in particular are considered, a comparative characteristic of the significance of various social contradictions of Russian society in the perception of citizens of the country is given, the specifics of groups that differ in their assessment of the most acute contradictions of Russian society, and the group that does not see any acute contradictions in it at all, are defined. We also compared people’s assessments of the most acute contradictions in Russian society with the assessments of scientists dealing with the mentioned problems of the main contradictions in modern societies. In particular, contradictions between the rich and the poor and contradictions reflecting different facets of the relationship between the state and citizens are perceived most acutely by Russians. Most of all the contradictions in society concern Russians who are characterized by subjective financial disadvantage (and the subjective perception of their situation is more important than the actual size of their income), residents of Moscow and Saint Petersburg, and senior citizens. At the same time, young people under 25, residents of villages and those, who do not experience financial difficulties, perceive contradictions in the Russian society more calmly, than representatives of other social groups.