No 12 (2025)

The article is devoted to the analysis of labor (industrial) relations as a scientific discipline aimed at studying the processes and results of establishing the rules of relations in the labor sphere and the social nature of the compromises reached. The main conceptual approaches to the study of labor relations and the history of the development of western science are discussed – from its emergence at the turn of the 19^th and 20^th centuries to the crisis and the latest transformation at the turn of the 20^th and 21^st centuries. The relationship between the demands of practice and evolving the subject field in Western countries and in Russia is shown. Main features of labor relations as a scientific direction are highlighted: the interdisciplinary nature of research, the “focal” structure of the subject field and the high degree of politicization of the research focus.

In developing the concept of a social and cultural mechanism for youth life self-regulation this paper presents the theoretical and methodological analysis results of the reproduction and formation phenomenon in semantic deviations among young people. The significance of semantic deviations is schematically defined by their acceptance followed by a transition to semantic attitude and deviant behavior. Deviation indicators are developed basing on the social and cultural genesis of respective ideas. Empirical data on their distribution dynamics in the period 2021–2025 are offered. General fatigue from severe restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic played a significant role in the acceptance of semantic deviations in 2021. It has been established that the education level has the greatest differentiating potential in deviations’ spreading and internalizing: the higher the level, the lower the attitude toward deviance acceptance. Age also impacts the decrease in deviations. Extreme poverty and access to luxury create conditions for semantic deviations escalations. Sociocultural space of small towns stands out as a most problematic factor bearing the risks for semantic deviations’ formation and inertia reproduction. A higher orientation toward semantic deviations is recorded among young men. Generational «solidarity» among young people in the acceptance of a number of semantic deviations was ascertained. These include both modern anomic and traditional archaic attitudes: an intrinsic value of «hype,» acceptability of corruption and lawbreaking, permissibility for deceiving the governing bodies and a belief in women’s responsibility in acts of sexual violence.

The article presents the results of a bibliometric analysis of collaboration patterns among Russian sociologists in 2010–2021, focusing on co-authorship. Co-authorship networks reveal key trends, the structure of collaboration, and highlight significant researchers. Russian sociology is characterized by the non-linear development of its professional community and high centralization resulting in inequalities between central and regional scientific schools. This study analyzes co-authorship data from 75,232 sociology publications indexed in the electronic library eLibrary database. The bibliometric network analysis methodology constructs various types of collaboration networks, covering 37,790 unique authors. In the first part of the article, the data is examined at both macro and micro levels, revealing a trend toward increased co-authorship: solo articles dropped from 80% to 52% over 12 years. Despite the overall low publication activity of most authors, a small group of highly productive authors emerges employing different collaboration strategies to produce a large pool of works.

Personal diaries from the period of the Great Patriotic War are increasingly being analyzed by researchers from various disciplines. The possibilities of wider use of such diaries as sources for sociological research, including changes in the status, role and capabilities of people during the war, are of interest. It is known that war as a social disaster causes extraordinary mobility (P.A. Sorokin): it completely changes the context and the possibilities of adapting to it. The issues related to these changes are discussed in the article based on the materials of the personal diary of the military veterinarian P.A. Popov from 1941 to 1945. Professional practices and professional growth events are analyzed: awarding titles, awards, and professional development. This makes it possible to link changes in individual socio-professional status and changes in the status of the profession as a whole during the war years. Conclusions are drawn about the peculiarities of the processes of interrelation of personal, social and professional transformations in wartime, the role of such resources as the values of patriotism, family and memory of peaceful life. The work contributes to the understanding of the possibilities of using the method of analyzing personal diaries, the role of such analysis in the formation of public historical memory.

The first part of the article (see No. 11, 2025) considered the problems of measuring the poverty of migrant households, analyzed the profiles of poor households with children (proportion, composition and characteristics of families), differences in the poverty level of migrant households from Central Asian states. The human capital of low-income households was assessed including the parents’ and children’s knowledge of Russian. Accessibility to preschool and school education for children from poor migrant families was discussed. The second part continues the analysis of the human and social capital of parents from poor migrant households, assessing their children’s housing conditions and access to healthcare. It is shown that the poverty of migrant families with children is not only five times higher than in local households, but also qualitatively different: migrant children not only attend worse schools, but also live in worse housing and grow up in a worse social environment than their local peers from the same households. Subjective perceptions of poverty in migrant families are identified. Assessments are provided of their level of integration into Russian society and the subsequent migration strategies of members of low-income households. The majority of respondents from low-income households with children identify themselves as Russian citizens more often than with their fellow citizens in their home country; many intend to remain in Russia permanently. The presence of children and the household’s financial situation play an important role in the focus on integration, creating a favorable environment both within the family and in the external communications of its members with the surrounding society. Possible directions for further research are discussed. In conclusion it is argued that the abandonment of integration policies – declared recently by authorities – entails serious negative consequences not only for low-income migrant households with children but also for the host society. The article is based on sociological surveys conducted in 2011, 2017, 2020, and 2023, involving 2,760, 7,245, 673, and 2,697 households respectively for which budget information was available.

Drawing on in-depth interviews with respondents who moved at least once in their adult lives, this article analyzes the motives, directions, and consequences of geographic mobility. This topic is particularly relevant given the desire of one in four Russians to move to another city, coupled with the persistently low level of geographic mobility in the country [Voronina, Kozharin 2025]. This approach allows us to demonstrate the connection between motives for geographic mobility and their consequences, emphasizing the contextuality and fluidity of decisions in the context of political change and the turbulent times during which the move occurred. The semantic content of possible motives for geographic mobility is clarified (for example, it is shown that family-related motives for relocation include separation from the parental family, care for relatives, reunification with family members, etc.). It was shown that the consequences of relocation are closely linked to the informants’ starting opportunities: in families with high levels of accumulated capital (economic, cultural, and social), relocations were predominantly to larger cities or metropolitan areas and were one-time events. The motive for relocation was linked to the choice of destination and was part of the motivation for the move and a life choice. The destination of the move was not always a factor in the motivation and life choice (random selection). The success of a move is also influenced by whether the decision to move was made consciously or spontaneously. Spontaneous moves are more common among young people – after finishing school – and are more often associated with negative consequences of the move and a subsequent return home. In contrast, in those over 20, moves are most often planned with the family, and after 25, they are a more independent, deliberate decision. These interviews suggest greater opportunities for moving to different regions of Russia during the Soviet era (compared to today’s reality) due to the incentive system for developing new territories and shared collectivist values that encourage relocation in the interests of society. However, narratives noted greater difficulties in living and settling in the capital during the Soviet era, compared to today’s opportunities for geographic mobility.

The article examines how and why failures in the application of ethnic categories occur when radical phenotypic differences between a person and an ethnic group indicate a lack of shared ancestry. The authors analyze cases where Russian children in adoptive Buryat families began to speak Buryat over time, follow religious rituals of Buddhism and/or shamanism, and identify themselves as Buryats or simultaneously as Buryats and Russians. The authors, relying on the works of R. Brubaker, B.E. Wiener, and T. Jimenez, show the role of family socialization in the formation of affiliative ethnic identification of Russians with Buryats. Such self-understanding is more an expression of affection and close relations with foster parents than a stable ethnic identification. Thus, the article emphasizes the dynamics of interaction between cognitive and affective in the process of ethnic identity formation.

This article presents field notes from the qualitative sociological investigation of aging in rural Russian villages, offering an ethnographic perspective on the everyday practices and lived experiences of older adults amid structural and cultural transformations. The research frames aging as a process embedded in multi-scalar social relations, where kinship networks, neighborly support, and informal reciprocity function within a shrinking infrastructure of welfare provision and collective resources. When conducting research on aging in Russian villages, we encountered familiar barriers such as recruiting informants, obtaining support from authorities and relatives, and facing cognitive or physical difficulties of older participants; however, all of these proved less significant than the issue of trust, which emerged as central during initial contact. Field observations and interviews revealed that distrust had multiple dimensions: firsthand experience with widespread fraud [often involving direct encounters with scammers] and latent fears about being questioned on sensitive or prohibited topics, especially those related to the current conflict. This pervasive sense of alienation and distrust was further exacerbated by the pandemic and self-isolation measures, which, though brief, left a lasting imprint of anxiety and habitual distancing. The study contributes to rural gerontology by problematizing idealized conceptions of village solidarity, demonstrating the layered crisis of trust and the need for nuanced, context-sensitive researchers interventions that respect local lifeworlds and epistemologies of aging.