Scientific life: research in socio-cultural modernization of Russian regions

The last two decades in Russia are characterized by significant changes in socio-economic, political and cultural processes. The modern stage of evolution of the Russian society as a sociocultural system is accompanied by deep changes in all spheres of public life. This situation requires theoretical understanding and empirical analysis of new categories selection, thus, the study of socio-cultural development of regions is very important for Russia’s future.

To present regions in terms of sociocultural territorial communities in their integrity, originality and in the context of socio-cultural space of the country as a differentiated unity the scientists elaborated the program “Socio-Cultural Evolution of Russia and its Regions” in 2005. Head of the Centre for the Study of Social and Cultural Change at the Institute of Philosophy of RAS, RAS Corresponding Member Nikolai Ivanovich Lapin initiated it. Every year the project involved more and more participants, so at the moment 25 RF subjects take part in it (the Republic of Bashkortostan, the Republic of Buryatia, the Republic of Kalmykia, the Republic of Karelia, the Republic of Tatarstan, the Chechen Republic, the Chuvash Republic, Krasnodar Krai, Krasnoyarsk Krai and Perm Krai, the Astrakhan Oblast, the Bryansk Oblast, the Vladimir Oblast, the Volgograd Oblast, the Vologda Oblast, the Kursk Oblast, the Novosibirsk Oblast, the Omsk Oblast, the Samara Oblast, the Sverdlovsk Oblast, the Smolensk Oblast, the Tyumen Oblast, the Tula Oblast, the Ulyanovsk Oblast, the Chelyabinsk Oblast, the city of Moscow). The scientists and research groups from scientific institutions and universities work on a common theme, meet annually at conferences, presenting their researches and sharing their opinion. There have already been 10 conferences in Moscow (2005), Tyumen (2006), Kursk (2007), Cheboksary (2008), Smolensk (2009), Ulyanovsk (2010), Kazan (2011), Ufa (2012), Vologda (2013) and Perm (2014). Omsk will host the conference in 2015. It should be noted that their conduct is constantly supported by the Russian Humanitarian Science Foundation (RHF). The 11-year study “Socio-Cultural

Portrait of Russia” has become a tool to identify the factors in stability and instability of the societal system at the regional level. N.A. Lapin and L.A. Belyaeva have developed the program and standard tools, presented by a “portrait” prospect program and a complex of sociological and statistical methods of obtaining information, including population’s assessment of the basic parameters of their life1. So, the portraits of about 25 different regions of the RF federal districts were created in 2006–2010 (2012). These works were published in two dozen monographs and hundreds of articles, conference proceedings and the collective monograph “Regions in Russia: Socio-Cultural Portraits of Regions in All-Russian Context”2.

ISEDT RAS, becoming a member, began the study of the Vologda Oblast and the construction of its portrait on the basis of the socio-cultural approach in 2008. The 2008– 2012 studies revealed the regularities and features of transformation of the social and cultural image of the region against the background of economic and social instability and provided a comprehensive picture of the region. There was research in the main economic indicators describing the living conditions of population and the spheres of society, such as health care, education, innovative development, cultural activity, people’s way and style of life. Cultural potential of the region was also considered at this stage. The analysis of cultural development indicated the situation, assessing the level of cultural potential and the degree of its convertibility into cultural capital. The Vologda Oblast has considerable cultural and historical heritage, but its cultural potential is significantly reduced by low cultural activity of the population3. Its priority vectors helped clearly define the hierarchy of values for people. Their major interests are the following: values of family and home (65% of the respondents in 2012). The interests related to education and spiritual development at the bottom of the value hierarchy (3%). More than a third of the population (24%) considers a lack of free time and financial constraints as the most common causes of low cultural activity. Innovative activity, being already underdeveloped in the region, reduced even greater in the 2008 crisis period. However, the percentage of innovators slightly increased mainly due to the regional policies to support small and medium-sized businesses. Of the key problems-hazards we can single out crime and poverty. They are paramount not only for the Vologda Oblast, but for Russia as a whole. Despite the gradual socio-economic development of the region, it is characterized by internal asynchrony and inconsistency of an urban center (cities of Vologda and Cherepovets) and regional periphery. It is reflected in the socio-cultural development. Socio-cultural potential of the region has a good basis, which should be preserved, maintained and developed. The following spheres are of special importance: demography, ecology and civic, cultural and innovative activity of the population.

The indicator of social protection of the population is one of the key indicators reflecting the country’s economic viability, the level of citizens’ rights protection, quality of life and social security. Social security in the subjective sense is a feeling of social security assessed in terms of psychological state of an individual⁴. The level of self-esteemed security is disclosed in the answers to the question: “To what extent do you personally feel protected from various dangers?” The list of 10 dangerous problems, included in the national monitoring, is proposed⁵. The calculated ratio of social security shows the degree of community’s stability⁶. For the analyzed period from 2006 to 2015, the coefficients of social security have differed slightly around the country ( figure ). There have been no values close to a critical level (0.5). In the Vologda Oblast for the past four years, its value has been equal to 0.58 and lower than in 2008 and 2010. There changes are caused by the growing anxiety of residents because of their ethnicity, religious beliefs and persecution for their political beliefs. According to the conducted

Protection coefficients by Russian regions

Source: Regiony v Rossii: sotsiokul’turnye portrety regionov v obshcherossiiskom kontekste [Regions in Russia: SocioCultural Portraits of Regions in the All-Russian Context]. Compiled and edited by N.I. Lapin, L.A. Belyaeva. Moscow: Academia, 2009. 808 p.; Results of the fifth wave of the all-Russian monitoring “Values and Interests of the Russian Population” received by IPh RAS SSCC in 2006; Results of regional studies “Socio-Cultural Portrait of the Region”.

study, the population of Russian regions is least protected from crime, poverty, arbitrariness of officials and environmental threats (protection coefficients by these indicators equal to less than 0.5). Thus, the data show that in the country there is no stability and sense of security against criminal attacks, and also there is little hope for protection of law enforcement. This is evidenced by the current threat of arbitrariness on their part, which closes the list of critical problems. So, the Russian society is characterized by social disunity and uncertainty in their future and dealing with people.

Let us consider another indicator, used to evaluate the socio-cultural environment, – an index of social well-being of the population. As can be seen from table 1 , in 2010 the value of the social well-being index in the Vologda Oblast was lower than for Russia as a whole. If the values of the coefficients of protection from hazards and social optimism in the oblast are roughly equal to the nationwide, the level of life satisfaction lags behind the all-Russian. The 2012 and 2015 studies indicate that life satisfaction among the region’s population increased significantly, but 2 other ratio decreased. The decline in the coefficient of optimism is alarming. For 8 years it has decreased by 0.11 p. from 0.66 to 0.55. Unless the situation stabilizes, we can expect a further drop to a critical level by 2020. There are social consequences of the economic downturn, recurrent in recent years.

Social wellbeing of the population is associated with the values that shape the lifestyle and behavior of an individual. The detailed study of this issue includes methodical tools of the “Socio-Cultural Portrait of Russia”. So, in most cases the Vologda Oblast residents share a hierarchy of values characteristic of the Russians (tab. 2). However, the division of values into 4 functional layers in 2010 coincided only in the last group – conflict-prone periphery. The scoring values in the region are lower than in Russia as a whole. For the region’s inhabitants human life is the supreme value. The values, such as family, order, sociability, comprise the integrating core. The region’s population ranges “freedom” the 9th, though it takes 7th place in the national ranking). Let us note that in many RF regions the value “tradition” is sharply weakening in the minds of population. In the Vologda Oblast, unlike in Russia, morality, sacrifice and initiative find themselves in the opposing differential. Authority and arbitrariness are not considered as significant values for most area residents. These values are denied by the overwhelming part of the Russian population. In 2015 the values hierarchy of the Vologda Oblast population has not undergone any substantial changes; we will only note that a significantly greater number of people have begun to appreciate freedom and sacrifice more, and work less.

During the second research stage initiated in 2011 the Program participants’ attention was focused on the study of the processes of socio-cultural modernization in the regions. Using the tools of the China Center for Modernization Research of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (since 2000 it has been monitoring stages of modernization, their phases and levels in 131 countries, including Russia) and the data of the Federal State

Table 1. Index of social well-being and its coefficients

Index	2006		2008	2010			2012	2015
	RF	NWFD	VO	RF	NWFD	VO	VO	VO
Index of social well-being	0.60	0.65	0.62	0.62	0.64	0.61	0.62	0.61
Coefficients that comprise the index of social well-being
Protection from dangers (SC)	0.57	0.64	0.6	0.59	0.59	0.6	0.58	0.58
Satisfaction with life in general (Ku)	0.66	0.69	0.61	0.68	0.71	0.61	0.71	0.71
Optimizm (Co)	0.58	0.62	0.66	0.58	0.61	0.61	0.58	0.55

Table 2. Values and preferences of the population (weighted average scores on a 5-point scale)

Vologda Oblast, 2010 (2015)                                             Russia, 2010

Values	Points	Place	Values	Points	Place
Integrating core
Person’s life	4.64 (4.63)	1 (1)	Person’s life	4.80	1
Family	4.53 (4.60)	2 (2)	Family	4.80	2
Order	4.49 (4.56)	3 (3)	Sociability	4.73	3
Sociability	4.48 (4.51)	4 (4)	Order	4.72	4
			Welfare	4.59	5
			Independence	4.47	6
			Freedom	4.44	7
			Tradition	4.40	8
Integrating reserves
Welfare	4.38 (4.39)	5 (5)	Work	4.29	9
Independence	4.29 (4.32)	6 (6)	Initiative	4.13	10
Tradition	4.19 (4.18)	7 (8)	Morality	4.10	11
Work	4.11 (3.94)	8 (9)	Sacrifice	4.07	12
Freedom	4.08 (4.19)	9 (7)
Opposing differential
Morality	3.80 (3.72)	10 (12)
Initiative	3.74 (3.81)	11 (10)
Sacrifice	3.66 (3.80)	12 (11)
Conflict-prone periphery
Authority	2.49 (2.55)	13 (13)	Authority	2.76	13
Arbitrariness	2.42 (2.51)	14 (14)	Arbitrariness	2.49	14

* Method to determine values by N.I. Lapin (Lapin N.I., Belyaeva L.A. Programma i tipovoi instrumentarii “Sotsiokul’turnyi portret regiona Rossii” (Modifikatsiya – 2010) [Program and Standard Tools “Socio-Cultural Portrait of Russia” (Modification – 2010)]. Moscow : IF RAN, 2010. 111 p.).

Source: data of the survey “Socio-Cultural Portrait of the Region” carried out by ISEDT RAS in 2010, 2015 (Vologda Oblast), Institute of Philosophy in 2010 (Russia).

Statistics Service of the Russian Federation the scientists calculated indices of the state of modernization in all 83 subjects and 8 federal districts of the Russian Federation (the Chinese method was adapted to Russian statistics by N.I. Lapin)7. The more detailed research in the modernization level measurement in the world, in Russia and certain regions of the country was promoted by the Russian-Chinese conference “Civilization and modernization”

conducted in 2012 by the Institute of Philosophy. The acquired experience was used in the development of the information-analytical system “Modernization” (ISEDT RAS, , designed for automation of calculations and visualization of data by RF regions and federal districts. The substantial analysis of modernization processes involved the use of the results of socio-cultural portraits of regions. Due to this approach we have socio-cultural-modernization understanding of the region, the international comparability of modernization processes is provided. The results of Russian research were presented at the 1st international forum on modernization “Modernization and Global Change” (Beijing, August 8–9, 2013)8.

The first achievements of regional working group are published in the collective monograph “Problems of Socio-Cultural Modernization of Russian Regions”9. Six types (states) of Russian regions’ modernization are identified; socio-cultural modernization in 18 regions is analyzed in detail. It is found out that socio-cultural potential is being implemented insufficiently, and, thus, it is necessary to increase the level and quality of life of the population. The factors in this situation are singled out; the directions of the regional modernization strategy are developed in view of the increase in the level of socio-cultural development and competitiveness.

Under the RAS Presidium Program of Fundamental Research the “Role of space in modernization of Russia: natural and socioeconomic potential” (Head – Academician V.M. Kotlyakov)10 Centre for the Study of Social and Cultural Change at the Institute of Philosophy of RAS is to publish the monograph “Atlas of Socio-Cultural Modernization of Russia”. Socio-cultural space of Russia will be presented in the Atlas by three levels: country as a whole, federal district, regions.

There have been already taken attempts to analyze the state of modernization of Russian territories, and define the next phases of the modernization strategy implementation11.

So, the assessment of secondary modernization¹² (SM) reveals the uneven level of modernization in the RF federal districts – the difference in the SM indices was 25 p.p. By index value federal districts can be divided into 3 groups: the level of the SM index is low (31–51), average (52–80), and high (81–120). The high level corresponds to only the Central Federal District, all other areas account for the average level ( tab. 3 ). The calculations show that due to the financial and economic crisis the rate of index annual growth decreased and in 2 federal districts the index values were even characterized by a downward trend. The year of 2012 was positive: the situation stabilized in all districts, the positive changes were observed there.

Let us consider the dynamics of SM development in the Northwestern Federal District. The highest level of modernization can be observed in the city of Saint Petersburg, some Northern regions with developed mining and processing industry (the Murmansk Oblast, Nenets Autonomous Okrug, the Komi Republic), including major cities or

Table 3. Dynamics of secondary modernization indices by RF federal districts*

Federal district	Year					Average growth rate
	2000	2005	2008	2010	2012	2000– 2008	2008– 2010	2010– 2012
Central	Average		High			1.7	0.6	1.3
	68.9	76.7	82.8	84.1	86.6
Northwestern	66.7	72.6	Average			1.3	0.8	0.8
			77.4	79	80.6
Russia	61	66.2	69.8	72	78.4	1.1	1.1	3.2
Ural	56.2	63.1	67.4	66.1	69.1	1.4	-0.7	1.5
Siberian	52.6	59.2	62.8	63.2	63.9	1.3	0.2	0.3
Volga	55	61	63.4	64.4	68.3	1.1	0.5	2.0
Far Eastern	Pre-developed	58.6	62.4	62.1	65.9	1.4	-0.1	1.9
	51.4
Southern	50.3	55.6	58.3	59.1	61.8	1.0	0.4	1.4
North Caucasian	44.2	Pre-developed	51.7	53.6	63.7	0.9	0.9	5.1
		49.6

* SM levels: high – 81 and more; average – 52–80; pre-developed – 31–51.

Source: IS “Modernization”.

Table 4. Dynamics of secondary modernization indices by RF federal districts*

Federal district	Year					Average growth rate
	2000	2005	2008	2010	2012	2000– 2008	2008– 2010	2010– 2012
Saint Petersburg	Average	High				14.5	0.7	4.9
	77.7	86.7	92.2	92.9	97.8
Murmansk Oblast	58.5	Average				10.7	1.5	2.6
		64.5	69.2	70.7	73.3
Nenets Autonomous Okrug	54.1	59	64.6	65.1	71.9	10.5	0.5	6.8
Komi Republic	53.6	60.2	66.1	65.8	69.7	12.5	-0.3	3.9
Leningrad Oblast	54.4	56.8	61.3	62.9	67.3	6.9	1.6	4.4
Republic of Karelia	Pre-developed	55.2	61.9	64.6	65.7	12	2.7	1.1
	49.9
Arkhangelsk Oblast	49.3	56.3	62.4	60.6	65.1	13.1	-1.8	4.5
Kaliningrad Oblast	52.9	57.1	61.4	61.9	64.6	8.5	0.5	2.7
Novgorod Oblast	49	53.8	57.7	59.9	63.9	8.7	2.2	4
Pskov Oblast	45.8	Pre-developed	55.5	56.7	61.1	9.7	1.2	4.4
		51.1
Vologda Oblast	46	51.9	56.7	56	59.9	10.7	-0.7	3.9

* SM levels: high – 81 and more; average – 52–80; pre-developed – 31–51.

Source: IS “Modernization”.

the ones adjacent to them. The lowest level of modernization is characteristic of the Vologda, Pskov and Novgorod oblasts. In the period under review the positive dynamics of the SM was observed. So, if in 2000 4 regions corresponded to the low level, in 2005 there were only 2, and in 2012 – no such regions (tab. 4). A greater number of territories

(10 of 11 in 2012) belonged to the average SM level; the group with a high development level included the city of Saint Petersburg and the Northwestern Federal District. We should note the uneven process of regional modernization in the district and asynchrony in the development of even neighboring geographical territories. Saint Petersburg is a striking example: it gets ahead of the Leningrad Oblast by more than 30 p. p. by SM index.

ISEDT RAS’ participation in the “SocioCultural Evolution of Russia and its Regions”

has allowed us to the process of socio-cultural modernization in the Vologda Oblast and the Northwestern Federal District in more detail.

The results are presented in 3 ISEDT RAS monographs (“Socio-Cultural Aspects of Territorial Development”13, “Modernization of the Region’s Economy: Socio-Cultural Aspects”14, “Social Structure and Mobility in the Russian Society”15), more than four dozen articles and conference proceedings16, and speeches at the 1st international forum on Modernization in Beijing17.

The ISEDT RAS research has received grant support several times: RFBR (project “Assessment of the impact of income inequality on the level and pace of socio-economic modernization of regions”, 2013); RAS Presidium Program of Fundamental Research No. 31 under Project 4.9 “Challenges of modernization: socio-cultural stratification and mobility in the regions”; RFH (project “Determinants of socio-cultural modernization of Russia’s development: methods of measurement and analysis of causal dependencies”, 2015). In 2013 ISEDT RAS organized the 9th all-Russian research-to-practice conference “Evolution of Russian regions and strategies of their socio-cultural modernization” under the program “Sociocultural evolution of Russia and its regions” (supported by RFH) and the Russian research-to-practice conference of young scientists “Socio-cultural potential of territories in the context of global challenges: methodological aspects” (supported by RFBR).

According to the research of the program participants in the aspects of social and cultural change in the Russian regions, the modernization processes, having become global, are a competitive challenge to every country. Russia demands research in the actual indicators of this challenge, the use of mathematical methods of forecasting and the elaboration of the strategy to safety and soundness of the country’s development and the increase in human potential and living standard of its population.

The results of studies carried out in almost 30 constituent entities of the Russian Federation by the specialists of scientific research institutes and leading universities indicate that the basic principles of competitive modernization of most Russian regions in the coming years should be the following: accelerated neo-industrialization and balanced socio-cultural transition from the primary stage of industrial modernization to the secondary information stage. The government should ensure the growth of investment in the creation of new knowledge, its translation to younger generations (i.e. in science and education) and the implementation of still significant human and socio-cultural potential of the country and its regions, its transformation into efficient human and cultural capital. This policy should fixed in the coherent legislative practices encouraging business (corporations, companies, enterprises, banks) to widely use the achievements of science and technology in order to raise the share of innovative products and services in the total volume of products shipped significantly, and providing adequate contribution of business to the federal and regional budgets.

It is necessary to develop regional and inter-regional cooperation of universities and research institutes in the study of the processes and problems of modernization. It is desirable to supplement the used tools by modernization parameters and indicators important for Russia. In the Russian regions it is advisable to develop a long-term strategy including a set of regional programs and municipal projects that reduce factors in inertia and resistance to modernization, and increase factors in neoindustrialization support and regions’ transition to the information stage of modernization. Experience shows that modernization is more effective, when both the ability of domestic innovative capacity and advanced foreign achievements are used. Different terms for transition to the information modernization stage can be required due to the significant differences in conditions of even nearby areas.