Features of the life world of rural residents in Russia

Features of the life world of rural residents in Russia


Toshchenko Zh.T.

Corresponding member of Russian Academy of Sciences, Scientific Director of the Sociological Faculty of Russian State Humanitarian University, Chief Researcher, Institute of Sociology of the Federal Center of Theoretical and Applied Sociology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia zhantosch@mail.ru

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For citation:

Toshchenko Zh.T. Features of the life world of rural residents in Russia . Sotsiologicheskie issledovaniya [Sociological Studies]. 2018. No 2. P. 71-81




Abstract

Based on the data of state statistics and sociological information, a picture of the modern Russian rural areas is given, which is represented not only by agricultural production and its accompanying institutions, its servicing, but also by industrial, construction and communication organizations, and also by the gradually increasing number of recreational, excursion, ecological settlements. There is also a trend of new forms of residence: a simultaneous life in the city and in the countryside (summer residents, freelancers, creative professions). In accordance with the concept of the sociology of life, the life world of the rural residents is represented by the consciousness of people, their behavior and their surrounding macro-, meso- and microenvironment. The article examines their main social functions as citizens, as inhabitants, as employees and as participants in interpersonal relations. When analyzing a rural resident as a citizen, his attitude to reforms in Russia, his attitude to economic, political and social problems, as well as his understanding of some international problems, are described. When examining problems as a resident of a rural settlement, main problems, expectations, satisfaction with material well-being are revealed. In this regard, great importance is attached to the comparison of the social situation of rural residents and city dwellers and explaining reasons for the different interpretation and attitude to problems as public (social) life. A significant place is given to the analysis of the daily (labor and personal) life of rural residents, their immediate surroundings. An attempt is made to reveal the features of this life both in comparison with the previous stage of the development of the rural residents, and in comparison with the life of people in the city. In conclusion, the main meanings of the life world are defined, which are characterized by their relationship to the personal future: to remain rural resident or to seek resettlement in the city.


Keywords
rural resident; rural settlement; life world, social consciousness; behavior; macro-, meso- and microenvironment; meaning of life; citizen; inhabitant; everyday life

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Content No 2, 2018