The article presents an empirical study of the provincial discourse of Russian popular culture. Authors identify the situation as ambiguous certainty, “centaur-problem” (J. Toshchenko): popular culture is contradictory and dual. The sample of the pilot socio-cultural survey N = 200: residents of Yaroslavl, Ekaterinburg, Ulyanovsk, Samara, Novosibirsk, Vologda, Internet visitors. Interviews embrasced famous figures of Russian culture – producers, directors (theatre, cinema), rectors of theatre schools, “ordinary” citizens. Set of 20 questions: about the image, social media, subcultures, traditions, professional fulfillment, the estimation of contemporaries, of belonging to the elite and popular culture, hierarchy of values, popularity of historical periods and cartoons. Conclusions: popular culture is a real context and factor in the formation of mass consciousness and behavior, individual perception of the world and creative experience.