The paper is a theoretical and methodological introduction to the series of articles to be published in ‘Sociological Studies’ and aimed at the state and issues of socioeconomic and socio-cultural components of modernization in various regions of key Russian federal districts. Charactieristics of modernization as a process of civilization in the twenty-first century is demonstrated by four component parts and six states (types) of modernization of regions. Imbalance of modernization processes and trends in the Federal districts are shown. Stages of integrated strategy modernization of Russian regions and minimax-strategy of enhancing the well-being of the population are argued for.