Zhurnal sotsiologii i sotsialnoy antropologii (The Journal of Sociology and Social Anthropology)

Theoretical foundations of the study of societal processes in the modern world

Azer G. Efendiev — 2026-03-27

The fundamental foundations of the analysis of societal processes of modernity are investigated. The authors proceed from the fact that in the 21^st century, a new social reality has emerged in the world historical space, which cannot be adequately explored using the tools of classical sociology, which is based on understanding the European historical experience. This applies to both ontological and epistemological aspects of the study of societal processes. In the proposed work, the authors make efforts to form some sociological foundations for the analysis of modern societal processes, overcoming the Eurocentric tradition. The implementation of these problems and goals is carried out within the framework of a nomothetic approach aimed at identifying the substantive foundations of the modern historical process. Some key theoretical assumptions of the research are put forward: understanding society as a self-sufficient system, the autonomy of society in relations with the external environment, understanding the social nature of the historical process as artificially humanistic (and not fatally spontaneous natural historical). An in-depth criticism of "historicism" is given, and the need to separate the biosocial (pre-civilizational) and postbiosocial stages of development is emphasized, within which the autonomy of society is fully realized. Special attention is paid to the analysis of the generation (determination, in the broadest sense of the word) of social phenomena, social necessity as a substantial basis of social activity. The socio-group, and especially the institutional-symbolic cultural-civilizational relevance of the content of social necessity is emphasized. Societies that differ in their cultural and civilizational foundations will differ substantially in what is necessary for them. In Part II, an attempt is made to identify the main principles and approaches to analyzing real societal processes: the question of the alternative/non-alternative societal process, an in-depth critique of economic determinism, emphasizing the leading role of social strategies in determining the content of economic and organizational activities, an understanding of the features of modern epochs, where societies with different types of social organization cooperate, compete, and conflict on equal terms.

Family Status and Health Maintenance of Expeditionary-Shift Workers in the Arctic

Alexander M. Akimov — 2026-03-27

The paper presents the results of a medical and sociological study aimed at preserving the health of workers employed on expeditionary shifts in the oil and gas production complex of the Arctic region of the Russian Federation. Without taking into account the value characteristics of attitudes towards health and the social status of “shift workers”, part of which is family status, the implementation of social regulation of life activity among men engaged in expeditionary rotational work does not seem possible. This determines the relevance of this work as a scientific basis for the formation of effective social and managerial mechanisms in the Arctic. The purpose of the study was to determine age and time trends in marital status and some parameters of responsibility for health among men of economically active age, their associations depending on the length of time they worked as expeditionary rotation workers in the Arctic. The study was conducted on two representative samples formed at industrial enterprises of the oil and gas production complex in the time range of 35 years, among men 25–54 years old, employed on expeditionary shifts in the Arctic region of the Russian Federation. Among males aged 25–54 years engaged in expeditionary and shift work in the Arctic region, 35-year trends have been identified in the age range towards an increase in the proportion of single men in each of the three decades of life 25–34, 35–44, 45–54 years and a more than twofold decrease in the proportion of registered marriages. According to the sociological study of 1987–1988 (GDU), with increasing age, a natural increase in the proportion of men in marriage has been established. According to the 2022–2023 sociological study (EURACOR), in the third decade of life, compared to older age categories, an increase in the proportion of married men is determined, as well as an increase in the proportion of single men, both previously married and unmarried. At industrial enterprises in the Arctic, 35-year trends have been established towards an increase in the proportion of single men in extreme positions — with less than three and more than ten years of work experience, towards a decrease in the proportion of registered marriages regardless of the length of service in expeditionary and shift work. With more than three years of work experience in expeditionary shift work in Arctic conditions, men with a life partner are determined to have the greatest care and responsibility for their health.

“The pipe stretches like fate”: societal preconditions of the habitus of shift construction workers in the oil and gas sector in the Post-Soviet period

Svetlana V. Tyulyupo — 2026-03-27

The article presents a section of the final theoretical synthesis of an interdisciplinary study on the impact of macro-environmental factors on the quality of life in Russia's labor-deficient territories. The aim is to reveal how the macro-processes of the 1990s (deindustrialization, agrarian crisis, migrations) structured the logic of organizational changes and influenced the formation of the production habitus of shift workers in the construction sector of the oil and gas complex, thereby shaping trajectories of their social well-being. The empirical basis consists of biographical interviews with construction shift workers (1990s–2020s). A qualitative analysis, conducted following grounded theory methodology and employing P. Bourdieu's concept of habitus, revealed key interconnections between societal processes and the transformation of the labor field. The results show that the influx of new cohorts of workers (displaced industrial workers, rural residents, migrants) with survival predispositions became an agent of systemic change. Their habitus, characterized by unpretentiousness, legal passivity, and a focus on short-term income, legitimized hyper-intensive labor regimes and informal (“gray”) payment schemes as acceptable and even preferable. Employers used these practices as a competitive advantage, forming a hyper-resilient organizational field that reproduces precarity and vulnerability. The research contributes to understanding the mechanisms of labor precarization in Russia, demonstrating the long-term impact of societal shocks, mediated by changes in the composition and habitus of the workforce, on the social well-being of shift workers.

Lies for the greater good? Russian perceptions of the (un)acceptability of disinformation

Anastasia D. Kazun — 2026-03-27

The term “fake news” has entered not only academic discourse but also everyday language. Researchers highlight a wide range of negative consequences associated with disinformation. However, it remains unknown whether the public problematizes this situation and whether news audiences are willing to justify fake news in certain contexts. This study's empirical base comprises 119 semi-structured interviews conducted between March and May 2024, focusing on perceptions of fake news. While the interviews reveal a generally negative attitude towards the dissemination of fake news, respondents noted its relative acceptability under specific circumstances. These include situations where the misinformation is perceived as having no negative consequences for individuals or society (e.g., humor and satire), avoids adverse reactions to current events (e.g., panic), or yields positive outcomes (e.g., raising public awareness of significant issues, prompting constructive or socially desirable actions, serving as a tool of state policy, a "training ground" for critical thinking, or a means of combating false beliefs). However, such fake news must meet certain criteria: minimal factual distortion, extraordinary circumstances and infrequent dissemination, temporary nature with subsequent corrective information provided, and compliance with existing legislation. Reasoning regarding the (un)acceptability of fake news can be framed within ethical or pragmatic logics. In the former, respondents emphasize the impossibility of justifying disinformation through potential positive effects. In the latter, attempts are made to calculate the potential positive and negative consequences of fake news, with a willingness to endorse unethical measures linked to the perceived shortcomings of others — individuals susceptible to cognitive biases, false beliefs, and excessive emotionality.

Adaptation practices of forced migrants: a comparative study of Russian emigrants in Georgia and Germany in 2022–2023

Kira D. Legut — 2026-03-27

The most recent Russian emigration wave of 2022–2023 has some peculiar features. Unlike their predecessors, the migrants of that wave have been leaving the country in conditions of high economic instability, strong tensions in the international political arena, closed airspace for Russia’s airlines, and suspended facilitation of obtaining the Schengen visa. The research goal of the current paper is to describe the adaptation practices of Russian migrants in 2022–2023 in the context of international tension. The empirical basis of the research consists of sixteen interviews with migrants in Germany and Georgia who left Russia in 2022 and 2023. The analysis shows that most common and successful adaptation practices include membership in a community and participation in activities that the migrants find interesting and valuable. Peculiarities of adaptation process in each country have been defined. The forced nature of emigration leads to the choice of a country with easier entry conditions, however, further adaptation in such cases is less successful. When moving to a country requiring entry preparation, informants adapt better as they have a clearer vision of their future in the new location. Thus, unlike migrants in Germany, informants from Georgia do not plan to remain in the country, which results in their isolation within the Russian-speaking community. They have a vague image of their future, which decreases the overall level of their adaptive capacity.

Transition to parenthood and migration: characteristics of social interactions among young mothers

Aryuna V. Kim — 2026-03-27

This article is devoted to the study of the transition to parenthood of young mothers in migration with a focus on the characteristics of social interactions. Since the circumstance of migration complicates the period of transition to parenthood, the main problem of young mothers is adapting to a new life both as a parent and a migrant at the same time. One of the important aspects of adaptation in migration and parenthood is the maintenance of habitual social interactions and the emergence of new social connections. The method of qualitative social network analysis will reveal the perception of network relations in general, as well as possible changes in these relations in connection with parenthood and migration. Based on the collected interviews and network maps with informants (15 interviews and network maps), in which the informants structured their interactions before and after moving and parenthood, four types of social interactions among women in conditions of migration and transition to parenthood were identified. The typification of social interactions is based on the network maps of informants, which noted contacts in the near, middle and far circles of interactions before and after the birth of a child and moving. The informants indicated a change in the close circle of interactions in both the middle and far circles, based on which four types of interactions were distinguished: the adapted type, in which the number of contacts in all circles increased, the closed type, which includes stability or an increase in contacts in the close circle, but a decrease in contacts in the middle and far circles, the open type in which, on the contrary, contacts in the close circle decrease, while contacts in the middle and far circles increase, and the remote type, in which contacts in all circles of interaction decrease.

Constructing childhood through sport: the image of the child-athlete in rhythmic gymnastics

Ekaterina B. Potapova — 2026-03-27

This article examines the redefinition of childhood as a social construct within the context of early professional sport, focusing on the case of rhythmic gymnastics in contemporary Russia. Drawing on a social constructivist theoretical framework, the authors analyze how childhood is transformed from a protected domain of play and leisure into a goal-oriented form of labor aimed at achieving high athletic performance. The empirical data consist of semi-structured interviews with coaches and parents of girls aged 6 to 12, whose daily lives are deeply embedded in intensive training regimes. The analysis demonstrates that routine practices in rhythmic gymnastics—such as extremely early specialization, prolonged “working days”, routinization, and subordination—correspond to key criteria of child labor, thus positioning sport as a socially legitimate form of it. The study further reveals a complex configuration of “power plays” among adult stakeholders: parents act as initiators and investors, framing their child’s athletic career as a “business project” and a vehicle for accumulating symbolic capital, while coaches enforce a rigid disciplinary regime and a work ethic centered on endurance and perseverance. The combined effect of these adult-driven efforts is the construction of a distinct image of the “child-athlete” — a disciplined, “adult-like” laborer whose one-dimensional identity becomes inextricably tied to sporting achievement. This image grants the child a privileged status in comparison with non-athlete peers and legitimizes the exclusion of elements traditionally associated with “natural” childhood. The article contributes to the sociology of childhood and sociology sport by illustrating how the institutional environment of sport produces an alternative regime of childhood that fundamentally contradicts humanistic ideals of childhood freedom and spontaneity.

National Identity in Times of Crisis: Strategies of Understanding Belonging to the State and Nation in Russia after 2022

Elena Y. Tsumarova — 2026-03-27

The article is focused on analysing the strategies of comprehension of national belonging in Russia after 2022. The theoretical basis of the study is the provisions of cultural sociology and everyday nationalism, according to which the cardinal change in the domestic and foreign political situation in Russia in 2022 is seen as a tragic event that has caused the need to revise the foundations of national identity. Particular attention is paid to discursive practices of comprehending national identity at the everyday level. Using the concepts of national indifference, identity change, and the redefinition of ethnic boundaries, the article formulates a model for analysing strategies for conceptualising national belonging in times of crisis, which is then used to analyse the empirical data. The empirical basis of the study was two waves of semi-structured interviews with Russian citizens who left the country and continued to live in it, conducted in autumn 2022 — winter 2023 and winter-spring 2024. The results of the research showed that the events of February 2022 influenced the way the national community was perceived at the individual level and catalysed the process of making sense of belonging to Russia. The analysis allowed to distinguish the following strategies of comprehension of belonging: strengthening of the existing national identity; national indifference and refusal of national identity. Strengthening of national identity and rejection of it are associated with the idea of the nation as a political community, while national indifference is based on the understanding of the nation as a non-political community based on a common culture or place of residence.

Alloparenting as a Factor of the Persistently High Fertility Rates in Central Africa

Vadim V. Ustyuzhanin — 2026-03-27

The high fertility rates that persist in Tropical African countries are a kind of anomaly, since other developing countries had lower fertility rates when having similar socio-economic development indicators — phenomenon dubbed “African pronatalism” in Western demography. Meanwhile, the lag in fertility transition contributed greatly to Africa's economic backwardness since independence, which is why the study of “African pronatalism”, the nature of which is still not fully understood, is of high practical importance. This study aims to assess the contribution of alloparenting as a potential factor of this phenomenon. Existing studies show the importance of alloparenting for traditional agrarian societies. However, in terms of its impact on fertility, the main attention is paid to the role of the woman's parents and her older children, while the potential role of other relatives remains relatively understudied. Meanwhile, for the countries of Tropical Africa, this role may be one of the elements of “pronatalism”, since in this region, due to the historical prevalence of hoe agriculture, where woman is the main worker in the field, the support of numerous relatives can be especially significant in facilitating the combination of agricultural work and childcare for the mother. The prevalence of extended families and its impact on the total fertility rate are assessed. The results show that the traditional prevalence of non-plough/hoe agriculture is positively associated with the prevalence of extended families, which in turn does have a significant positive effect on fertility. This seems to be part of the explanation for “African pronatalism” and partially responds to the question why socio-economic development per se has had less of an impact on fertility decline in this region as compared to rest of the developing world. The importance of female education and other targeted efforts to reduce fertility in the region is highlighted.

Civilization Potential of Russian Regions: Five Years of Joint Conferences at the Western Branch of RANEPA (Kaliningrad)

Vladimir I. Sharonov — 2026-03-27

This review analyzes a five-year collaborative project (2021–2025) between the Western Branch of RANEPA (Kaliningrad), the Sociological Institute of the RAS — Branch of the FCTAS RAS (St. Petersburg), and the Chelyabinsk State Institute of Culture. The project focused on researching the civilizational potential of Russian regions through a series of annual All-Russian scientific and practical conferences.

Book Review: Hester H., Srnicek N. (2023) After Work: A History of the Home and the Fight for Free Time. London; New York: Verso — 288 p.

Vladimir K. Karnaukh — 2026-03-27

Book Review: Hester H., Srnicek N. (2023) After Work: A History of the Home and the Fight for Free Time. London; New York: Verso — 288 p.