Social inequality in the Russian society: character and features of perception

The article analyzes the factors of social inequality, which is considered as the unequal access of individuals and groups to the system of social resources that are significant for their existence, without the chances of changing the situation. The problem of social inequality in Russia is acute due to an objectively high level of poverty and differentiation of the population in terms of incomes and property, due to strong equalizing attitudes in the mass consciousness, and the questionable legitimacy of a large part of the capital and their owners. The perception of inequality is determined by both socio-economic and by mental factors. According to the data of all-Russian studies, a decrease in the acuteness of perception of the problem of socioeconomic inequality during 2000-2010 was associated not with an objective reduction in social polarization, but primarily with the growth in the level of income and consumption of the basic stratum of the population. At present, social inequality, along with atomization and anomy, remains one of the most significant and obvious challenges to the integrity of the social fabric of Russian society.