Social aspects of modernization in Russia's regions

Modernization is a long process that is going on unevenly in the world and in every country, and especially in Russia taking into account its vast territory and national diversity. Moreover, very acute issues that our country has to face include its lagging behind developed countries by 2-4 times in terms of the standard of living, and profound interregional differences. Each subject of the Russian Federation has its own degree of socio-economic development and, consequently, its own level of modernization. This article aims to outline some important social aspects of territories' development on the background of modernization change. The authors try to show the specifics of change in the trends in health, education, and financial situation on the basis of a comprehensive analysis of statistical and sociological data. The authors conclude that modernization in Russia's regions should be considered not only as an achievement of the highest international standard in economic and technological fields, but also as an updating of the society in thesocio-cultural and spiritual perspective.