RUSSIAN SOCIETY: LOOKING TO THE FUTURE (A ROUND-TABLE DISCUSSION)

Svetlana Yu. Demidenko

The article presents a discussion of Russian leading experts (sociologists, political scientists, economists) about modern Russian society and its development prospects. Events in recent years (the reunification of the Crimea, complication of relations of the Russian Federation with the Western countries, sanctions and countrsanctions, economic crisis, change of US political leader and so on) not only changed the political and social context, but also caused a change in social expectations of the population. Research of Institute of Sociology RAS in 2016 showed an increasingly anxious mood of Russia, but assessment of the situation in the country is far from disastrous. Experts discuss not only reasons for this phenomenon, but also the possibility of a political crisis. An attempt is made to determine in which direction in the coming years the political regime in modern Russia will be transformed. Against a background of new challenges and threats that Russia might face in the next 5–10 years. Analyzed economic and political trends can lead Russia to a new qualitative state. Experts have concluded that Russian society today is stable, but the lack of the strategic vision of the future can lead to dramatic consequences.